A once-shelved project to bury Tokyo's expressway network, which is now aging, deep underground is finding new life, in part because of last year's devastating Tohoku quake and tsunami.
The "Tokyo Metropolitan Expressway Renewal Plan" was initially pushed by entrepreneurs six years ago but is now on the official agenda for serious debate at the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism.
The ministry is planning to set up an advisory panel to examine the feasibility of burying the elevated sections in the heart of Tokyo, officially called the Inner Circular Route. Once the panel, to be led by political commentator Hisayuki Miyake, submits a recommendation by summer, the ministry will request more funding for the next fiscal year to conduct further research, sources said.