Almost half a year after Nissan Motor Co.'s Murayama plant was shut down, the automaker announced in July it was considering selling a large portion of the 1.39-million-sq.-meter property to a Buddhist organization.
Followers of Buddhist organization Shinnyoen listen to their local branch leader on TV.The news was greeted with more anxiety than hope by many in communities around the property, which stretches between Musashimurayama and Tachikawa in western Tokyo. It was obvious that Shinnyoen, a Tachikawa-based sect with a 65-year history, would not be able to bring the same economic benefit as Nissan did with its fixed-asset tax payments and spending by the 2,300 workers at the plant.