With almost 225,000 signatures, campaigners filed a fresh petition on Monday against plans to tear down a historic baseball stadium and cut down potentially thousands of trees in a rare green area of central Tokyo.
Lush with trees donated to honor Emperor Meiji a century ago, Meiji Jingu Gaien offers respite and shade — at a time when Japan saw its hottest summer on record — in one of the world's biggest urban areas.
The park area is also home to Jingu Stadium where U.S. baseball star Babe Ruth wowed spectators in 1934 and where celebrated Japanese author Haruki Murakami says he was inspired to become a writer.