Activists ask for investigation into Tokyo 2020 OIympic illegal timber use

Record ID: 735141

  • Title: Activists ask for investigation into Tokyo 2020 OIympic illegal timber use
  • Date: 27th April 2017
  • Summary: TOKYO, JAPAN (APRIL 27, 2017) (REUTERS) ***WARNING CONTAINS FLASH PHOTOGRAPHY*** SPEAKERS TAKING SEATS (SOUNDBITE) (English) SENIOR ADVISOR AT RAINFOREST ACTION NETWORK, HANA HEINEKEN, SAYING: "And the fact that the Tokyo Olympic stadium construction is using plywood supplied by Shin Yang means that there is a high risk that it is linked, derived from very unsustainable logging operations". CONFERENCE IN PROGRESS (SOUNDBITE) (English) SENIOR ADVISOR AT RAINFOREST ACTION NETWORK, HANA HEINEKEN, SAYING: "There's been a slowness in Japanese companies recognizing the social and environmental risks associated with their businesses. I think there's been too much focus on whether it’s legal or not. REPORTERS LISTENING TO PRESS CONFERENCE (SOUNDBITE) (English) SENIOR ADVISOR AT RAINFOREST ACTION NETWORK, HANA HEINEKEN, SAYING: "Yes this is indicative of a wider problem in Japan's timber supply chain but we are making issue of this, of the Olympics because they have publicly committed to making this sustainable, and so we feel that this is not consistent in what they have publicly pledged". SPEAKERS AND REPORTERS PREPARING TO LEAVE CONSTRUCTION OF OLYMPIC STADIUM UNDERWAY TAISEI CORPORATION FLAG WORKER WASHING ENTRANCE TO CONSTRUCTION SITE TRUCK ENTERING CONSTRUCTION SITE VARIOUS OF CONSTRUCTION UNDERWAY TAISEI CORPORATION TEMPORARY BUILDING VARIOUS OF WORKERS CONSTRUCTION OFFICIAL WALKING THROUGH SITE
  • Embargoed: 11th May 2017 10:18
  • Keywords: Olympics stadium construction illegal logging Sarawak Shin Yang
  • Location: TOKYO, JAPAN
  • City: TOKYO, JAPAN
  • Country: Japan
  • Topics: Olympics,Sport
  • Reuters ID: LVA0016E6C4LH
  • Aspect Ratio: 16:9
  • Story Text: Environmental protection groups in Tokyo, on Thursday (April 27) called for an investigation on the use of plywood used in the construction of the Tokyo Olympic venues on which they say is linked to a Malaysia logging company accused of deforestation and human rights violation.
    Global Witness and Rainforest Action Network said the plywood used by Taisei Corporation at Tokyo Olympic construction sites comes from the Malaysian logging company Shin Yang, one of the "big six" logging companies on the Malaysian part of Borneo, which has systematically cleared pristine rainforest from the Southeast Asian island.
    A spokesperson for the International Olympic Committee said it had agreed on a Sustainable Sourcing Code for Timber with Tokyo Metropolitan Government and National Government to assure venues for the games met ethical standards.
    Tokyo's Olympic stadium will be constructed around an unusual set of wooden lattices - a design conceived by architect Kengo Kuma to harmonise with a forest of oak and camphor trees surrounding the nearby Meiji shrine in the Japanese capital.
  • Copyright Holder: REUTERS
  • Copyright Notice: (c) Copyright Thomson Reuters 2017. Open For Restrictions - http://about.reuters.com/fulllegal.asp
  • Usage Terms/Restrictions: None
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