04/04/2026
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04/04/2026
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People sit down for a picnic outside a cordoned-off area set up to inspect the health of cherry blossom trees at Kinuta Park in Tokyo on April 3. (AP)
TOKYO, April 4, (AP): Many of Tokyo’s popular and iconic Somei Yoshino cherry blossom trees were planted during Japan’s postwar 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 favorite 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 meters (59 feet) tall and 2.5 meters (8.2 feet) 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 passerby.
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.
People gather under the trees during the season of hanami, or cherry blossom viewing, and the collapse of trees has alarmed officials in Tokyo, the birthplace of the cherry blossom variety.
Tokyo assembly member Yutaka Kazama expressed concern on social media last month that“cherry blossom trees with their roots partially exposed or obviously rotten seem dangerous,” calling for firm safety measures but without quickly resorting to tree felling.
Aging and erosion by internal fungus growth are among the main causes for the deterioration of the cherry blossom trees. A tree doctor, Hiroyuki Wada, said heavy tilting, flowering on lower trunks and mushrooms growing at the bottom are signs to look for in order to avoid risk-prone trees. Risks increase when tree trunks retain water after rain, he said.
“Many trees in our daily lives were planted soon after the war and are now 70-80 years old and getting weaker,” he said, adding that they are affected by extreme heat in the summer and an extensive dry season.
