NARITA, Chiba -- Narita Airport is the gateway to Japan for many travelers, but it only became so after years of intense and sometimes bloody conflict.
For those who want to learn more, the Narita Airport and Community Historical Museum is next to the airport. The museum's vivid exhibits raise important questions about how public works projects should be carried out.
The museum uses panels to explain the history of confrontation and dialogue between the builders of the airport and those who opposed it, accompanied by displays of relevant materials.
The decision to build the airport was made in 1966, touching off the protest movement by local farmers and others who opposed it. Things grew even more intense when radical students joined the movement.
The start of forced land expropriation was met with fierce resistance. Clashes in 1971 over land surrenders left three police officers dead. The airport was scheduled to open in March 1978, but this was delayed by two months when protesters occupied a control tower.
The exhibits feature items actually used by protesters, including helmets bearing slogans such as "Smash the airport," Molotov cocktails and iron pipes.
According to one display, the protesters believed that "surrender here is equivalent to giving up a farmer's greatest pride in life." Contemporary newspaper articles and other items convey the distinctive atmosphere Narita was caught up in.
Takashi Itabashi, 75, was in the first class of employees of the New Tokyo International Airport Authority, now known as the Narita International Airport Corp., and is a guide at the museum.
"The people building [the airport] should have spared no pains to deal with things a little more politely," he said.
A forum for discussion was created in the 1990s. The government recognized the mistakes of its hard-line approach, which helped move the dialogue forward. The end of the exhibition explains the process of dialogue between the two parties.
Narita Airport is still trying to improve its functions, such as by building a third runway, suggesting the search for coexistence and mutual prosperity will continue into the future.
"We have to try to recognize and coordinate the presence of people with differing positions," Itabashi said. "Not only at Narita Airport, but in all public works projects, 'more haste, less speed' is probably the best approach."
-- Narita Airport and Community Historical Museum
Narita International Airport Corp. opened the museum in 2011 on the grounds of the Museum of Aeronautical Sciences. The exhibits attempt to achieve a balance of opinions between those who built the airport and those who opposed it. The views of former members of the protest groups and local residents were incorporated. About 10 minutes by bus from Narita Airport Station on JR and Keisei lines.
Address: 113-2 Iwayama, Shibayama-machi, Chiba Prefecture
Open: 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Closed on Mondays (or Tuesday if Monday is a holiday) and around the year-end and New Year's period.
Admission: Free
Information: (0479) 78-2501
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