It was learned that the Tokyo High Court had decided by the 1th to reject an immediate appeal by residents who had requested a complete halt to the tunneling work on the Tokyo Gaikaku Ring Road, one of the ring roads in the Tokyo metropolitan area, and disagreed with the court's decision to suspend the construction only in a part of the area.
Residents around the planned construction site of the Tokyo Gaikan Ring Road = commonly known as the "Gaikan Road" have filed a provisional injunction with the national government and the East Japan Expressway to stop the tunnel excavation work itself, claiming that there is a problem with the method of digging deep underground with a huge excavator called a "shield machine".
In February last year, the Tokyo District Court ruled that "if construction is resumed using the same construction method without effective measures being taken, there is a risk of endangerment to the body and life," and that the road cave-in was found three years ago for a section of about 2 kilometers from Tomei Junction to Chuo Junction, including the area of Chofu City, Tokyo. We ordered the suspension of construction using the same construction method and rejected the rest of the section.
The residents immediately appealed to allow the construction to be suspended on all sections, but Tokyo High Court Chief Judge Toru Yoshida ruled by the 3th that "it cannot be immediately said that there is a risk of a collapse accident other than the site where the cave-in occurred."
As for the construction of the Gaikan Road, tunnel excavation work is being carried out except for the section where the construction has been suspended by the decision of the Tokyo District Court.
Residents' lawyers
Commenting on the decision, the residents' lawyer said, "We would like to discuss with the parties and consider whether to appeal to the Supreme Court."