It would cost about 30 billion yen to rebuild a donjon of Edo (Old Tokyo) Castle that was burned down in 1657, a Non-Profit-Organization said on October 25th at a press conference in Tokyo. The donjon is projected to be built of wood and 45 meters high with five floors above ground and one below. According to an NPO official, the rebuilt donjon would be the largest wooden structure built in this century. The group wishes to complete reconstruction by July 2020, when Tokyo Olympic Games are held.

The designated site is in the east side of Imperial Palace, Chiyoda-ku, where the tower will be built by traditional method with Japanese cypress more than 100 years old. It is said that the life lasts about 1500 years. Speaking at the conference, Naotaka Odake, Chairman of the group expressed an intention to collect contributions from private sectors to cover the cost. The organization will have talks with related ministries and agencies such as the Imperial Household Agency, Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism and the Agency of Cultural Affairs and hopes to start a design work in 2015 targeting to ground breaking in the second half of fiscal 2016. (2013/10/28)