Haruki Murakami opposes destruction of nearly century-old baseball baseball stadium in Tokyo

Fox News Flash top sports headlines are here. Check out what's clicking on Foxnews.com.

Author Haruki Murakami says he’s strongly opposed to the redevelopment of a historic and beloved Tokyo park district that would remove his favorite jogging path and tear down the nearly century-old baseball stadium where he was inspired to become a novelist.

The plan approved earlier this year by Tokyo Gov. Yuriko Koike to put skyscrapers and new stadiums in the heart of the Jingu Gaien green district has become increasingly controversial. Followers of baseball and rugby history are opposed to it, as well as conservationists and civil groups who say the project has advanced without transparency, adequate environmental assessment or explanation to the residents.

The ball park and a neighboring rugby stadium used for soccer during the 1964 Tokyo Olympics would be demolished under the plan, and hundreds of trees would be removed from what's been a Tokyo park district for centuries. When finished, the new stadiums will be surrounded by nearly 200-meter (650-foot) tall office buildings in a commercial complex.

CLICK HERE FOR MORE SPORTS COVERAGE ON FOXNEWS.COM

Japanese novelist Haruki Murakami poses for media during a press conference on the universitys new international house of literature, The Haruki Murakami Library, opening at the Waseda University in Tokyo, on Sept. 22, 2021.  Murakami spoke up against a controversial redevelopment plan at the heart of Tokyos beloved historic and green district of Jingu Gaien that would tear down a nearly century-old baseball stadium that inspired him to become a novelist and his favorite running course.  (AP Photo/Eugene Hoshiko, File)

"I’m strongly opposed to the Jingu Gaien redevelopment