The Tokyo District Court on Friday ordered the Tokyo Metropolitan Government to suspend its forcible expropriation of land in the western Tokyo city of Akiruno for the construction of a new expressway.
The metropolitan government was acting on behalf of the central government in securing the land for the 300-km-long Kenoudo Expressway, which, once complete, would form a virtually circular route around the greater metropolitan area.
Six Akiruno landowners refusing to sell their land had sought judicial intervention to stop their land from being forcibly taken.