A 36-year-old plan to build a subway running east and west in Kawasaki finally appears to be moving forward, drawing praise from residents along the proposed route but criticism from opponents for imposing a huge drain on the city's finances.
According to the plan originally devised in 1966, the 22-km subway will run across the city from the hilly residential area in the west to the industrial area in the east facing Tokyo Bay. The line, to be operated by the city, will start at the Odakyu Line's Shinyurigaoka Station in Aso Ward at one end and JR Kawasaki Station in Kawasaki Ward at the other.
The plan picked up steam in May when the Land, Infrastructure and Transport Ministry gave the go-ahead for construction of 70 percent of the line from Shinyurigaoka to Motosumiyoshi Station on the Tokyu Toyoko Line. And then Takao Abe, a former Hosei University professor and an expert on city planning, was elected mayor in October after pledging to get the project under way.