A new push by business executives is calling for the removal of the elevated expressway over Nihonbashi Bridge before the Olympics and Paralympics in 2020. That's a fitting proposal since the expressway was hastily thrown over the top of the bridge just before the 1964 Olympics.

Since then, the Metropolitan Expressway has kept the Nihonbashi Bridge in a permanent shadow, turning the bridge at the heart of Japan into an eyesore.

Changing the expressway would mark a shift from an overly practical, rush-to-build style of city construction toward a more refined and well-considered approach to urban planning.