Governor Koike’s initiative! Construction is underway in Odaiba, but the number of signatures opposing the project has exceeded 30,000… Pros and cons of the “Giant Fountain

Controversial new project pouring large sums of money into the project.

The construction cost is over 2.6 billion yen, and the annual maintenance cost is nearly 200 million yen. …… Isn’t this a spectacular waste of money?

Odaiba, a waterfront area in Minato Ward, Tokyo. The ODAIBA Fountain (tentative name), one of the world’s largest fountains under construction in Odaiba, a waterfront area in Minato Ward, Tokyo, has become the subject of controversy.

The Tokyo waterfront subcenter has been developed as a fashionable tourist spot, but the number of visitors peaked in 2003 and has plateaued. The Tokyo Metropolitan Government decided to build a giant fountain in Odaiba as a new landmark. However, the budget for this project, which is said to be the brainchild of Governor Yuriko Koike, is approximately 2.64 billion yen. It will also cost 150-200 million yen a year for maintenance and management. This is about 800 million yen more than the Tokyo Metropolitan Government’s projection mapping project, which has been criticized as a wasteful use of money,” said a reporter from a national newspaper’s society section.

The fountain facility to be installed in Tokyo Bay is said to be 250 meters wide and 150 meters high, spewing water to the accompaniment of music and lighting. It will be completed next March. However, there are many puzzling points.

The Tokyo Metropolitan Government has cited the desire to create a lively atmosphere in the area as the reason for installing the fountain, but there is no indication that such a request was received before the announcement of the plan. The Tokyo Metropolitan Government emphasizes that it will not inject taxpayers’ money into the project because it will use the proceeds from the sale of the land as a source of funding. However, the site is owned by the Tokyo Metropolitan Government and is the common property of the people of Tokyo. It is said that the environmental impact of the project was studied in advance, but when the fear of bacteria and salt damage was pointed out, they changed the use of tap water instead of seawater, and there are many other inconsistencies.

Furthermore, despite competitive bidding, the contract for the construction work was awarded to a single bidder, which was unusual. It has been revealed that the contractor was staffed by about 10 TMG employees, including former senior officials of the Port Authority.

A Tokyo Metropolitan Government official asserts.

“We decided to develop the fountain because there had been talk that it would be good to have a lively facility in the waterfront subcenter. Since the announcement of the maintenance policy, we have been holding discussions with related organizations and local residents. The change from seawater to tap water was also made as a result of the consultations, in order to make the facility better,” said the Port Authority.

Sanhe Aya, a Tokyo Metropolitan Assembly member from the regional political party “Jiyu wo Mamoru Kai” (Association for the Protection of Liberty), who is pursuing the fountain issue, is outraged.

According to a survey conducted by the Tokyo Metropolitan Government on visitors to Odaiba, no one wanted the fountain. Yet, the plan to build the fountain has been created in a way that is not clear to us. Under Koike’s administration, administrative costs per capita have increased by about 100,000 yen. While taxpayers’ money is being squandered, the metropolitan government is pouring large sums of money into new projects.

While the metropolitan government expects the fountain to attract 30 million visitors a year and generate 9.8 billion yen in economic benefits, it has also been criticized as a spectacular waste of money.

November 14 and 21, 2025 combined issue