Central Breakwater

The Central Breakwater (中央防波堤 Chuo bohatei) is a breakwater located in Tokyo Bay, adjacent to the Tokyo Gate Bridge.

The Central Breakwater was first constructed in 1973 and has been used as a site for waste disposal from Tokyo since then, forming two artificial islands in Tokyo Bay known as the Inner Landfill (内側埋立地) and the Outer Landfill (外側埋立地). The islands had a combined area of 377 hectares in 2011 and are expected to ultimately reach an area of 989 hectares.[1]

Jurisdiction over the Central Breakwater islands has been disputed between the special wards of Koto and Ota. Under Japanese law, any boundary dispute may be submitted to the prefectural government (in this case, the Tokyo metropolitan government) for resolution; a similar dispute with regard to the nearby Odaiba and Ariake area was resolved in 1982 by splitting the area between the three special wards that claimed it.[1] Koto has argued that the garbage used to create the landfill was hauled through Koto and that making the island part of the special ward would repay residents for their trouble, while Ota has argued that the site of the breakwater was historically used by Ota-based nori cultivators, and that the island should be managed in coordination with nearby Haneda Airport (which is part of Ota). The dispute is mainly considered an issue of brand image; jurisdiction over the island offers little practical benefit to the special wards, as fixed asset taxes on real estate are collected by the metropolitan government.[2]

The Central Breakwater is one of the planned venues for the 2020 Summer Olympics. The Inner Landfill will host the Sea Forest Cross-Country Course for equestrian events, while the Outer Landfill will host the Sea Forest Mountain Bike Course. The waterway between the two islands will be used for rowing and kayaking events. The venues will be maintained as recreational areas after the Games.[3]

References

Coordinates: 35°36′00″N 139°48′35″E / 35.5999121°N 139.8097697°E / 35.5999121; 139.8097697

This article is issued from Wikipedia - version of the 11/18/2016. The text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution/Share Alike but additional terms may apply for the media files.