Narita fiasco: never again
(From The Japan Times July 26 issue)

成田紛争の教訓

    Thirty-nine years after the government's fateful decision to build Tokyo's new international airport in Narita, the airport authority and the government are expected to adopt a new policy by the end of this month that may ostensibly help end the conflict between the government/airport authority and local farmers who have opposed airport construction. Narita International Airport Corp. and the Land, Infrastructure and Transport Ministry will start procedures to extend the airport's provisional 2,180-meter second runway north to its planned full length of 2,500 meters, instead of south as originally planned. The extended second runway will be able to accommodate takeoffs and landings of long-haul jumbo jets.

    The new move follows the airport authority's failure to persuade seven owners of 3.8 hectares of land located south of the second runway to sell their land to allow for the original planned extension. The advantage of the northward extension is that there is no further need for land acquisition talks with land owners — a point that make some people think that the 39-year-old conflict is about to end.

    Northward expansion carries its own cost, though. The work will take six years and cost ¥33 billion, compared with three years and ¥19 billion for the original southward expansion.

    Although northward expansion seems to help settle a major problem at Narita airport, government officials must take the lessons learned from the airport's history to heart.

    The origin of the Narita tragedy can be attributed to the government's abrupt 1966 decision that chose Narita for the new airport over Tokyo Bay and Kasumigaura in Ibaraki Prefecture. The government miscalculated. It failed to understand the strong emotional attachment of Narita farmers to their land. This kind of mistake must not be repeated in any future government-sponsored, large-scale project. Narita's history suggests that only when the government pursues sincere dialogue with affected local residents can such a project proceed with their blessing.

    The first 25 years since the 1966 government decision was characterized by a forceful approach. In 1971, the government expropriated land for the airport by executing a compulsory subrogation twice, leading to clashes between farmers and policemen. Shortly before the airport opened in May 1978 with only the 4,000-meter main runway, ultraleftists occupied its control tower.

    The government enacted the Narita special law to remove "unity huts," structures set up by airport opponents. As the situation worsened, authorities had difficulty acquiring land for the second phase of construction. Only in May 1991 did the transport minister issue a written statement that the government would no longer adopt forceful measures to acquire land for second-phase construction.

    A mediation group of five intellectuals led by the late Mikio Sumiya, former president of Tokyo Woman's Christian University, helped set up meetings between local farmers and the government. The latter apologized for how it forced airport construction and withdrew its plan for the second phase of construction.

    Following this development, some land owners agreed to sell their land and the government opened the second runway, 320 meters shorter than originally planned, in April 2002 to cope with increased demand expected for the World Cup soccer tournament in Japan.

    Narita airport serves as the gateway to Japan, accommodating about 60 percent of the international flights to and from Japan. The extension of the second runway was prompted by requests for more flights to and from Narita airport and for new operations from foreign airlines.

    The work to extend the second highway to its originally planned 2,500 meters will be completed in 2011 at the earliest. This will increase the number of takeoffs and landings that Narita airport can accommodate from 200,000 annually to 220,000. But this means more noise pollution for local farmers and residents. The government and the airport authority must hold talks with them and take measures that alleviate their discomfort.

    Even with the northward extension of the second runway, the legacy of the government's mistake will remain. Narita airport will continue to lack a crosswind runway, which would have been 3,200 meters long under the original plan.

The Japan Times Weekly
July 30, 2005
(C) All rights reserved

      成田国際空港会社と国土交通省は7月末までに、暫定第2滑走路（2180メートル）を北側へ延伸する正式決定をする。滑走路は当初の計画通り2500メートルとし、長距離ジャンボ機の離着陸を可能にする。

      延伸は当初、南側へ行なわれる予定だったが、空港公団（当時）は地権者7戸との土地買収交渉に失敗。北伸でこれ以上土地買収交渉の必要がなくなり、39年続いた空港反対闘争も終わる可能性がある。

      問題は政府が1966年に、他候補地を退けて成田に新東京国際空港を建設することを決定したことに始まった。政府は地元農民の土地に対する愛着に関して見込み違いをしたのだ。同様の誤りは、今後の政府主導の建設計画で繰り返してはならない。

      1971年、政府は空港用地を強制収用し、警官隊と農民グループが衝突した。1978年、4000メートルの主滑走路1本での空港開業直前に反対派ゲリラが管制塔を占拠した。

      政府は、反対派が建てた「団結小屋」を撤去するため「成田治安法」を成立させた。状況は悪化、政府の第2期工事用土地買収は困難をきわめた。1991年になって、運輸相（当時）は第2期工事のための土地強制収用はしないとの声明を発表した。学識経験者グループが農民と政府の会談を仲介、政府は第2期工事計画を撤回した。

      その後一部の地主は土地売却に合意、政府は2002年、計画よりも320メートル短い第2滑走路をW杯サッカー関連の航空需要増に対応するため利用開始した。

      成田空港は日本発着の国際便の60％を占めている。第2滑走路の延伸は、成田発着枠の拡大と外国航空会社の新設便に対応するために行なわれる。

      第2滑走路の延伸工事は早ければ2011年までに完成、成田発着可能回数は年間20万回から22万回へ増える。政府、空港会社は住民と交渉し、騒音を軽減せねばならない。

      第2滑走路を北側に延伸しても、政府の不手際の影響は残る。成田空港には今も、当初計画されていた3200メートルの横風離着陸用の滑走路がない。