Haruki Murakami pleads for keeping Tokyo park and baseball stadium that inspired his writing

By MARI YAMAGUCHI
Associated Press

TOKYO (AP) — Author Haruki Murakami says he’s strongly opposed to the redevelopment of a Tokyo park district that would remove his favorite jogging path and tear down the baseball stadium where he was inspired to become a novelist. The plan to put skyscrapers and new stadiums in the Jingu Gaien green district has become increasingly controversial. Followers of baseball and rugby history are opposed to it, as well as conservationists and civil groups who say the project has advanced without transparency, adequate environmental assessment or explanation to the residents. Murakami said, “Please leave that pleasant jogging course full of greenery and the lovely Jingu Stadium as it is. Once something is destroyed, it can never be restored.”