KAMAKURA, Oct 30 (News On Japan) –
A beloved café in Kamakura, Kanagawa Prefecture, is vulnerable to closure after town ordered it to vacate its location. Calls for its preservation have intensified because the courtroom battle begins.
Since opening in 1955, the “Venus Café” has been a fixture alongside Kamakura’s shoreline, providing views of the ocean alongside burgers and Mexican delicacies. Over the many years, it has additionally served as a filming location for a lot of tv dramas and the movie Inamura Jane, directed by Southern All Stars’ Keisuke Kuwata. Now, this fashionable café faces an unsure future.
Mayor Takashi Matsuo commented in May: “We must reevaluate the preferential arrangement that allows certain businesses to continually rent public space. Permitting one company to monopolize its use lacks fairness.”
The café operates inside Kamakura Beach Park, paying roughly 2.3 million yen yearly for the city-owned land, which additionally homes different services, together with a resort and a pool. However, Kamakura City has knowledgeable Venus Café that it intends to terminate the contract, ending the café’s working rights.
Jiro Yoshizawa, the café’s proprietor, responded: “We were suddenly told to vacate due to non-compliance with seismic standards.”
City officers argue that in a significant earthquake, the constructing may collapse, endangering lives. Disagreeing, Yoshizawa commissioned his personal seismic evaluation, which discovered no structural points, and he stays decided to combat for the café’s survival.
A 20-something patron expressed dismay: “The atmosphere here is wonderful. It would be really sad if it disappeared.”
Last month, the case escalated additional.
The Kamakura City Council’s Construction Standing Committee reported on September 13: “We are informing you that a lawsuit has been filed with the Yokohama District Court, seeking damages and an order for Venus Café to vacate the premises.”
The metropolis is requesting the return of the premises and about 7 million yen in damages, with a further every day payment of round 20,000 yen for park use till eviction is accomplished.
At the primary listening to held on October twenty fifth on the Yokohama District Court, Yoshizawa maintained his stance: “Why are we the only ones being forced to leave? I just want fairness. I also believe in preserving the cultural essence of Shonan. I want to protect it.”
Source: ANN