Kyoto has asked the Supreme Court to hear its appeal after the Osaka High Court ruled that the city acted illegally in closing a designated evacuation site to build a school lunch center, the city said on the 28th.
The high court ruled against the city on the 14th. Residents had sued to overturn the closure of Higashi Kichijoji Park in Minami Ward, a wide-area evacuation site — a park designated as a gathering point for residents fleeing a major disaster.
The court found that the four replacement parks the city set up would be difficult for residents to use as evacuation sites. Some were not expected to be designated as wide-area evacuation sites, and others were far from the original park.
The city said on the 20th that all-inclusive school lunches for municipal middle schools, scheduled to begin in the second term of fiscal 2028, are expected to be delayed. Construction continued while the case was underway.
Mayor Koji Matsui said on the 27th that the start could slip to fiscal 2029 or later.
“If we appeal and fight, it is not as if we can simply keep going. Judicial decisions should not be taken so lightly. It is hard to imagine this being settled within the fiscal year.”Koji Matsui, Mayor of Kyoto