On March 27, the Tokyo District Court rejected a lawsuit filed by 23 residents from Tokyo’s Ota and Setagaya wards seeking to halt underground tunneling for the Chuo Shinkansen maglev project, being developed by Central Japan Railway Company (JR Central). The plaintiffs argued that the construction, which involves deep tunnel boring beneath their homes, could lead to ground subsidence and structural damage.
Presiding Judge Katsumi Takagi ruled that there is no concrete risk of such damage. He stated that the planned tunneling, which will occur 55 to 90 meters below the surface using a shield tunneling machine, does not pose a specific danger to the surrounding area.
The residents had pointed to past incidents involving similar machinery that allegedly caused ground subsidence. However, Judge Takagi differentiated those cases, noting that the incidents occurred under unique geological conditions requiring special construction methods. In contrast, the area planned for the maglev tunnel consists of densely compacted sandy soil, which is not prone to sinkholes or void formation.
He concluded that the risk of harm to the residents or their property was not sufficiently substantiated to justify halting the construction.
Separately, JR Central recently acknowledged a 3-centimeter ground sinkage directly above a tunnel section in Nakatsugawa, Gifu Prefecture, but dismissed it as a non-critical, expected occurrence.
Info based on https://www.jiji.com/jc/article?k=2025032701160&g=soc Accessed 2025-03-27
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Linear Central Shinkansen tunnel construction site in Asao Ward, Kawasaki City, in January 2024.
Photo: https://www.jiji.com/jc/article?k=2025032701160&g=soc Accessed 2025-03-27