A movement has been launched to rescind the name selected for the new station on Tokyo’s Yamanote loop line situated between Shinagawa and Tamachi, which is scheduled to commence operation from 2020. As of 6 p.m. on Dec 10, an online petition to halt use of the new
A movement has been launched to rescind the name selected for the new station on Tokyo’s Yamanote loop line situated between Shinagawa and Tamachi, which is scheduled to commence operation from 2020.
As of 6 p.m. on Dec 10, an online petition to halt use of the new name had already garnered over 12,000 signatures.
“In the public campaign for entries to name the station, ‘Takanawa’ and ‘Shibaura’ received the most votes,” popular columnist and illustrator Mineko Nomachi, who’s spearheading the petition, told Nikkan Gendai (Dec 11). “Instead ‘Takanawa Gateway,’ which ranked 130th, was selected.
“That completely negates the meaning of holding a campaign in the first place. And it’s also a betrayal to the people who submitted entries,” Nomachi fumed. “I started circulating the petition to draw attention to the dishonesty of whoever was behind picking the name. “
The Takanawa district is adjacent to where the old Tokaido (“Eastern Sea Route”) passed, and the area served as an entry point — or gateway — to those arriving at Edo, Tokyo’s forerunner in pre-modern times.
