Nagoya Castle ‘Hate Speech and Barrier Free Debacle’: A Timeline

By Barrier Free Japan

JUNE 9 2023

NAGOYA – At a public debate held on June 3rd regarding barrier-free measures when restoring the wooden castle tower of Nagoya Castle, some participants said that an elevator that can go up to the top floor, which groups for the disabled and others are calling for, is unnecessary. Some were claiming that this was a discriminatory remark that made fun of people with disabilities.

Nagoya City, which hosted the debate, canceled the release of the video of the debate, saying it was an inappropriate remark.

Regarding this, Nagoya Mayor Takashi Kawamura said at a press conference that although he himself was at the venue, he could not catch all of the remarks, saying, “It is a place where citizens can speak freely, but it does not mean that they can say anything, so I think I should have said, “Please be careful.” Mayor Kawamura apologized, saying that he should have called attention to it when speaking.

The restoration of Nagoya Castle has been debated since May 2018 when a proposal that the castle be rebuilt without an elevator – or other ‘accommodations’ for people with disabilities – prompting disability rights groups to write to Nagoya Mayor Takashi Kawamura urging him to rethink the restoration plan.

At the time, in May 2018, Nagoya City said, ” We will restore it to the genuine appearance before burning down in the war damage, aim to become a national treasure again,” the way the castle tower is now also means that the wheelchair cannot go up to the 7th floor observation room. In order to restore faithfully to historical facts, no elevators were installed, and examples were cited of special vehicles going in and out directly from the outside, robots that ascend and descend stairs, and attempts to make the castle barrier-free by developing new technologies were made. This was after Nagoya city opened a “castle tower subcommittee” of experts who considers the wooden restoration plan of the castle tower of Nagoya castle, and indicated a policy proposal that no elevator should be installed in the new castle tower after restoration. 

On May 9th 2018, Disabled People International, Japan Conference, which is an NPO corporation that is affiliated with 97 groups nationwide, sent protests to Mayor Kawamura stating, “We are excluding people with disabilities under the name of being faithful to historical facts, it is a discriminatory act that violates the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities.”

Silence from the Nagoya Mayor

On June 5th 2018 The Mainichi Shimbun reported that:

“In response to the opinion of the disability organization “Aichi Disability Forum” who protested the policy of Nagoya city not to install an elevator in wooden restoration of the castle tower of Nagoya castle and asked not to permit the city’s restoration project to continue, the Mayor Takeshi Kawamura said: “Since I have not yet received concrete consultation (such as application from the city), I will refrain from replying as to whether or not”. On the other hand, I think that it is important that both incomes and safety improvements (such that concern. the elderly and disabled) and maintenance that preserves values such as historical sites are balanced as much as possible.”

And in Mid-September 2018 the same ‘Aichi Disability Forum’, continued to protest and gained an audience with then Aichi Governor, Hideaki Omura:

“An executive committee made up of a group of people with disabilities based in Aichi prefecture, who are against the policy of Nagoya City not to install an elevator in the castle tower when it is restored with a wooden floor, met on September 19th with Aichi Governor Hideaki Omura, and asked the city to work towards the installation of an elevator.  Six executive committee members, the governor and department manager attended the interview. Executive Committee Yuji Kondo co-chairman responded, “Access to cultural assets is a big challenge for us, we want to support from the prefecture, too,” the governor said, “I would like to hear your opinions.”  The governor who received the request from the executive committee to “work on various directions and cooperate” said that he would like to think about what they can do and to work on it. After the interview, the disability group said “Please accept the thought of the group and ask for more discussion and find a better direction. ”  

Nagoya City Mayor, Takashi Kawamura has been waiting for the elevator installation to restore it faithfully to historical facts, and has a policy to devise barrier-free measures with new technologies such as stair lifts.”

By late October 2019, the ‘no elevator policy’ remained but Nagoya City released a full-scale model of the staircase going up from the first floor to the second floor of the Nagoya Castle castle tower aiming for wooden restoration on the 21st. Nagoya city has a policy not to install an elevator in the new castle tower, and will use the model to demonstrate the barrier-free measures provided by the new technology.

According to Nagoya City, the model has 17 steps with a width of about 1.4 to 1.6 meters and a height of about 4 meters. US hiba wood was used to recreate the appearance of the Pacific War before it was destroyed in 1945. It is also used to study evacuation methods for emergency situations such as fires.”

In early January 2023, the Nagoya Municipal Government changed the name of the subway station nearest the station to avoid confusing tourists. It went from being called  “Shiyakusho (City Hall”) to “Nagoyajo (Nagoya Castle)”. The decision to change the names of the subway station was reportedly made in January 2021.