Near the north end of chic Shibuya shopping street Koen Dori, roughly 50 local residents and construction workers have held a standoff every night for nearly a month.
In an attempt to start construction on an entrance to an underground public parking garage, Tokyu Construction Co. dispatches workers nightly, only to face local residents who shout "Stop disturbing our living environment!" or "Don't waste taxpayers' money!" at every move they try to make.
The Shibuya Ward Office originally planned to begin construction in July 1998 to boost use of the financially troubled parking garage Shibuya Kuyakusho-mae Chushajo, which is run by a ward-supported semipublic body, the Shibuya Urban Development Public Corp.