Shizuoka gubernatorial race could determine Maglev’s fate; 1 Candidate is against construction, 2 cautiously prefers it

The fate of the planned linear Chuo Shinkansen magnetic line between Tokyo and Nagoya will be a key issue in the campaign for the May 26 Shizuoka gubernatorial election.

Shizuoka Governor Heita Kawakatsu, who has resigned, has opposed the construction of the 8.9-kilometer Shizuoka section of the maglev line in the name of protecting water flow in the Oi River.

Candidates in the race to replace him will be officially registered on Thursday. But whether the debate on this issue will deepen remains to be seen.

Opinion of residents

Three people plan to run for election: former Shizuoka vice governor Shinichi Omura, 60; former Hamamatsu mayor Yasutomo Suzuki, 66; and Daisuke Mori, 55; Chairman of the Prefectural Committee of the Japanese Communist Party.

While Mori calls for a suspension of construction, Omura and Suzuki both call for a balance between promoting maglev construction and preserving the environment.

During a public debate on May 2, Omura emphasized: “I would solve it in a responsible way” and “I would produce results within a year.”

However, when speaking to reporters after the debate, Omura appeared to have retracted his position, saying, “I only meant that I would open up ways to solve related problems. [such as environmental concerns]and I did not mean that I would approve the start of construction.”

Suzuki maintained a cautious stance throughout the debate. “I want to move things forward by bringing together the central government, the prefecture and the municipalities of the region [Oi River] basin and Central Japan Railway Co. [JR Tokai] to come together to solve each of the related issues.”

One of the reasons why Omura and Suzuki have failed to come out strongly in favor of construction is the fact that Kawakatsu has overwhelmingly won the last four gubernatorial elections under the slogan “protect the water of the Oi River ‘, and it is not easy to do this. read public opinion in the prefecture.

As for the Oi River, JR Tokai estimates that building a new tunnel would cause groundwater to flow from the mountains, reducing the river’s upstream flow by two tons per second below its current volume. In response to this estimate, Kawakatsu claimed that piped and agricultural water for approximately 600,000 residents in the basin would be affected and demanded that the entire volume of water flowing from it be returned to the river.

The JR side presented a plan to pump water back to the river and other measures to safeguard the river’s volume. This proposal was highly rated by a central government panel of experts, but Kawakatsu still did not approve the construction.

Attracts attention outside the prefecture

Meanwhile, municipalities along the magnetic line outside Shizuoka Prefecture have expressed interest in what would happen after the election.

“I would like to see someone who will promote the linear line project be elected governor,” Sagamihara Mayor Kentaro Motomura stated bluntly at a press conference on April 23. In the city of Kanagawa Prefecture, construction of the tentatively named Kanagawa Prefecture Station is underway.

In anticipation of the opening of the magnetic railway line, the city last year adopted an urban development plan for the areas around the new station and also formulated guidelines for the development.

Tsutomu Sanada, chairman of an association of local businesses and residents who campaigned for the construction of a station in the city, said: “I want the person who will approve the construction of the Shizuoka section to be elected.”

“What needs to be approved for the approval of the Shizuoka section?” asked Mayor Takeshi Sato of Iida City, Nagano Prefecture. “I want the new governor to raise the issue in an easy-to-understand manner.”

In Iida, the tentatively named Nagano Prefecture Station is planned to be built, and the municipal government has drawn up a plan to develop station plazas totaling 6.5 hectares of land north and south of the planned station. However, the city may have to revise the schedules in the plan as JR Tokai has abandoned its original goal of opening the Tokyo-Nagoya route in 2027.