Protecting Tokyo's Shrinking Canopy
Tokyo Residents Campaign for Tree Canopy Protection Amid Record Heat
Anonymous
Tokyo residents Kaoru Morimoto and Susumu Nirasawa are organizing neighbors, sharing local temperature data and petitioning officials to set a target for tree-canopy coverage as the city’s tree cover shrinks amid increasingly intense heat. A University of Tokyo study found that central Tokyo’s canopy declined substantially over the past decade, while Japan has faced record heat and widespread heat-related illness. The residents’ measurements found a roughly three-degree temperature difference between shade from large-canopy trees and more heavily pruned trees, underscoring their call for local officials to take the issue seriously.
Key Points
1
A 2024 University of Tokyo study found central Tokyo’s tree-canopy coverage fell from 9.2% in 2013 to 7.3% in 2022—a loss of 12 square kilometers.
2
The canopy lost in central Tokyo was equivalent to three and a half times the area of New York’s Central Park; New York’s canopy coverage is about 23%, according to the report.
3
Tokyo’s declining tree cover runs counter to a trend among many other major world capitals, where tree cover is growing rather than shrinking.
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