100-year-old ginkgo trees could get the axe under disputed plan for Tokyo's Jingu Gaien park

Takayuki Nakamura prays against a 100-year-old ginkgo tree that could be cut down under a disputed development plan for in the Tokyo Jingu Gaien park area in Tokyo, Sunday, Aug. 27, 2023. Nakamura, among a few hundred who gathered on Sunday to protest, planted his face in the bark of one tree and prayed. The area was set aside 100 years ago on honor the Meiji Emperor. - AP

TOKYO (AP): Miho Nakashima stood in a two-piece bathing suit in Tokyo on Sunday next to a 100-year-old gingko tree, her body painted head-to-toe in green leaves and brown branches.

Her message was clear, and she repeated it standing at the heart of the Jingu Gaien park area, its sanctity threatened by a disputed real-estate development plan