TOKYO –
Narita International Airport Corporation is expected to announce next month that it will apply to the national government for project certification as part of the process to enable compulsory land acquisition for the construction of a new runway at Narita Airport, according to sources familiar with the matter.
Construction work on the new runway has already begun, but approximately 10% of the required land has yet to be acquired. In April, the airport operator disclosed that it was considering compulsory acquisition as one option for obtaining the remaining land.
Sources said the company plans to hold a meeting next month with the national government, Chiba Prefecture, and surrounding municipalities, where it is expected to formally declare its intention to seek project certification from the government.
If the government determines that the project serves the public interest and the Chiba Prefectural Expropriation Committee subsequently issues a ruling, ownership of the land would be transferred to the airport operator.
Should landowners fail to vacate their properties by the designated deadline, compulsory acquisition is expected to proceed. However, people familiar with the situation said the number of actual expropriations is likely to remain very small.
According to sources, most of the remaining landowners are not refusing to sell but are unable to complete transactions because of issues such as unresolved inheritance matters. As a result, even if compulsory acquisition procedures are implemented, they are expected to affect only a limited number of cases.
Narita Airport’s latest move toward compulsory land acquisition for its new Runway C project is the newest chapter in a land dispute that has shaped the airport for more than six decades.
The conflict dates back to 1966, when the Japanese government selected the rural Sanrizuka and Shibayama areas of Chiba Prefecture as the site for a new international airport serving Tokyo. The decision was made with limited consultation with local residents, sparking fierce opposition from farmers facing the loss of their land and livelihoods. What began as a local protest soon attracted support from student activists and anti-government groups, turning the project into one of Japan’s most contentious public works developments.
Throughout the late 1960s and 1970s, the dispute escalated into violent clashes between protesters and police. Demonstrators built barricades, tunnels, and watchtowers on airport land, while authorities mounted large-scale operations to clear the site. Several people, including police officers and protesters, died during the confrontations. The struggle became a symbol of opposition to government authority and remains one of the most significant social conflicts in postwar Japan.
The airport was originally planned with three runways, but persistent resistance prevented the government from acquiring all of the necessary land. As a result, when Narita Airport opened in May 1978—years behind schedule—it did so with only a single runway. Even the opening was marred by sabotage attacks that damaged airport facilities shortly before operations began.
Unlike most major airports, Narita continued to contain pockets of privately owned land within or adjacent to airport property. A small number of farmers refused to sell and remained on their land for decades, becoming symbols of the anti-airport movement. Their fields and homes could still be seen from airport roads and runways long after the airport entered service.
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The airport’s second runway also faced years of delays because of unresolved land issues. When it finally opened in 2002, it was significantly shorter than originally planned, limiting the types of aircraft that could use it. Later extensions improved its capacity, but the project remained a reminder of how land disputes had constrained the airport’s development.
The current expansion plan is intended to complete a vision that dates back to Narita’s original design. The centerpiece is the construction of Runway C, a 3,500-meter runway on the southern side of the airport, along with the extension of the existing Runway B. Together, the projects are expected to increase Narita’s annual aircraft capacity from roughly 300,000 movements to around 500,000, strengthening its role as one of Japan’s primary international gateways.
Although construction work on Runway C has already begun, about 10% of the required land remains unacquired. Unlike the fierce opposition movements of earlier decades, airport officials say most of the remaining cases involve practical issues such as unresolved inheritance procedures and complex ownership arrangements rather than organized resistance to the project itself.
Narita Airport’s decision to seek project certification from the government is therefore seen less as a confrontation with holdout landowners and more as a mechanism to resolve longstanding legal obstacles. Even so, the prospect of compulsory acquisition carries historical significance. More than 60 years after the airport was first planned, land acquisition remains one of the defining issues in Narita’s development, underscoring the lasting legacy of a dispute that transformed both the airport and Japan’s approach to major infrastructure projects.
Source: TBS
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