A reader posted that there were not enough benches in the city, and after interviewing Tokyo’s 23 wards, we found that only 10 wards were working on installing benches on the sidewalks. This seems to be due to the street conditions unique to Tokyo, where houses are densely packed and roads are narrow. However, residents’ voices have moved the government, and a trend has emerged in which benches are being installed. (Seno Yuka) ◆Installation of benches on sidewalks is limited to 10 wards “I wanted to sit and rest when I was pregnant or tired from holding my child.” A woman in her 40s from Nakano Ward, Tokyo, posted to the Tokyo Shimbun her experience of wanting to sit down in the city but not being able to find a bench. A Nakano Ward official said with a troubled look, “There are voices saying that we want benches, but the sidewalks are not wide enough.” In a notice from the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism in 1994, it was required that when installing benches on sidewalks, a passage space of at least 2 meters be secured after installation. This is to allow wheelchair users to pass each other. ◆ “There is a request to install benches, but the sidewalks are not wide enough” Nakano ward has many densely populated residential areas, and there are many narrow sidewalks and few “suitable locations.”
In addition, 13 wards have not made bench installation a business for reasons such as “residents are concerned about a worsening security situation” (Sumida ward) and “there is no request from residents” (Chiyoda ward). However, Arakawa ward and others have stated that they will consider it individually if there is a request.
Meanwhile, 10 wards, including Chuo, Minato, and Shibuya, are implementing or planning projects to install benches. They are placed on sidewalks with sufficient width as part of a barrier-free promotion policy.
◆Suginami ward provides subsidies of up to 50,000 yen for installation on private land
In July, Suginami ward began providing subsidies of up to 50,000 yen for benches installed on private land such as shopping streets. A ward official explained the trigger, saying, “In an exchange of opinions with residents, we heard that ’It would be nice if we could sit down and rest while shopping.’”
Toshima ward is trying to increase the number of benches that can be used casually by attaching stickers that say “everyone’s bench” to existing private benches. Stickers have also been put up on benches in the Nagasaki Jujikai Shopping Arcade in the ward, and Koji Furukawa (52), a Japanese confectionery shop owner, said, “For the elderly, just having a bench will be a lifesaver.”
◆Benches will make people think, “I can take a break and go outside.”
The ward has the highest rate of elderly people living alone among cities with a population of over 500,000 in the nation (2020 census), and preventing elderly people from becoming isolated is a challenge. Last year, many residents of the ward submitted proposals for projects saying, “We want benches in the city.”
In response to this, the ward will purchase about 20 new benches this year and install them in response to requests from the community. It has budgeted 3.25 million yen for related projects. Yuri Imai, head of the ward’s Elderly Welfare Division, said, “I hope that people will change from, ’It’s hard to walk, so let’s stop going out’ to, ’I can take a break there, so I can go outside.’”
All we need to do is create a space for wheelchair users to share. The world is getting more and more crazy because the Soka Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism is so stupid.
There is no shade on the benches. Even if there is shade, it is made of plants that attract mosquitoes, so no one can sit there during mosquito season.
There’s no need for benches in the city. There are cafes and other places, so people can just go in and rest. I think it would be nice to have benches on riverbanks, promenades, or walking trails, though.
There are a few things written about it, but I think it’s the trash can. Foreigners don’t care if they throw their trash there, and now I just leave it there myself.
There were a lot of iron pipes to sit on for a while, but what do you think? They’re just going to be used as sleeping places for homeless people, we don’t need benches.
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