Word: hatano
(lookup in dictionary)
(lookup stats)
Dates: during 1970-1979
Sort By: most recent first
(reverse)
...issue. Socialist Governor Ryokichi Mi-nobe, 67, a scholarly, soft-spoken former economics professor, is pinning his hopes for re-election on the slogan: "Give Tokyo back its blue sky!" His opponent for the governorship (the equivalent of a U.S. mayoralty) is former Police Chief Akira Hatano, 59, a first-time campaigner, hand-picked by Premier Eisaku Sato and his Liberal Democratic Party. Hatano joined the fray with a promise from Sato that if he wins, the federal government will put up 4 trillion yen ($11 billion) to make Tokyo livable again...
...would Hatano spend the money? He commissioned an army of city planners, architects, sociologists and economists to draw up a grandiose scheme. Dubbed "Hatano's Vision," it calls for underground channels to accommodate subways, motor vehicles and sewage, plus a series of earthquake-resistant high-rise housing developments linked to commercial centers by superhighways. All would be interlaced with green belts and recreation areas. Hatano's Vision, says Minobe, is an "illusion" that would convert Tokyo into "an inhuman mass of steel and concrete...
...There are some cities, like New York, which are finished, completed," says Candidate Hatano. "You can't do anything with them but a little bit here and there. Tokyo is not at all completed. It has a future because there is so much that can be done." Few would dispute that point-but will 4 trillion yen be enough, even for starters...