Safety fears bloom in Japan as ageing cherry trees collapse in Tokyo parks

Many of Tokyo’s popular and iconic Somei Yoshino cherry blossom trees were planted during Japan’s post-war advancement in the 1960s, and are now getting old…

Many of Tokyo’s popular and iconic Somei Yoshino cherry blossom trees were planted during Japan’s post-war advancement in the 1960s, and are now getting old and frail.

Some have fallen and many others require support, triggering safety concern as the Japanese celebrate the season of their favourite flower.

Two cherry blossom trees collapsed on Thursday, one at Kinuta Park in downtown Tokyo and the other at the Chidorigafuchi greenway. The one in Kinuta Park damaged a fence while the other tree almost fell into the Imperial Palace moat, though nobody was injured.

The tree in Kinuta Park was 18 metres (60 feet) tall and 2.5 metres in diameter. It was among the oldest, believed to be more than 60 years old, officials said. In March, another old cherry tree collapsed at the park, injuring a passer-by.

A broken branch is caught up in a damaged cherry tree after a nearby tree fell on it at Kinuta Park in Tokyo on Friday. Photo: AP

Last year, 85 trees fell in Tokyo parks, injuring three people, and many were cherry trees, according to Masakazu Noguchi, a Tokyo metropolitan official in charge of public parks.

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