TOKYO — Over a span of nearly 100 years, Meiji Jingu Stadium in central Tokyo has been the scene of numerous important events. Babe Ruth and Lou Gehrig played there on a barnstorming tour, the novelist Haruki Murakami was inspired by a trip to the stadium to write his first novel and just last year Munetaka Murakami of the Yakult Swallows hit a record-breaking home run into the stadium’s stands.
An ambitious redevelopment plan, however, would have the stadium razed and replaced with a modern facility. The plan has come under intense scrutiny from disparate groups that include fans of baseball history, followers of the country’s rugby history and conservationists who are concerned about how the various projects would affect the Jingu Gaien district, a historic green space that features century-old trees provided by the industrialist Shibusawa Eiichi, known by some as the father of Japanese capitalism.