A redevelopment plan for the historic Meiji Jingu Gaien district in central Tokyo has faced pushback since its unveiling last year.

Developers and the Tokyo Metropolitan Government say the goal of the project is to ensure the century-old cluster of sports and recreation facilities, museums and greenery is usable, safe and attractive to visitors for the long term. But opponents say the plan hasn¡¯t sufficiently taken into account environmental, cultural and stakeholder considerations.

The parts of the project that have drawn the most attention are the potential loss of green space and felling of thousands of trees, as well as a significant threat to historic gingko trees, with this drawing not only criticism from activists but also the International Council on Monuments and Sites (ICOMOS).

Developer Mitsui Fudosan announced last month that it would put the tree felling process on hold, following a request from Tokyo Gov. Yuriko Koike that developers undertake a revised environmental impact assessment with the aim of reducing the number of felled trees, with this to be submitted to the metropolitan government by the end of the year.

The metropolitan government request came after a ¡°heritage alert¡± regarding Meji Jingu Gaien was issued by ICOMOS ¡ª a UNESCO advisory body ¡ª highlighting various concerns around the redevelopment plan.

So, what does the Meiji Jingu Gaien redevelopment plan entail and what do opponents say is at issue? Here is a look at what you need to know.

Moving and reconstructing the area¡¯s baseball and rugby stadiums, as well as other indoor sports complexes, and building new office, retail, hotel and ¡°cultural exchange¡± complexes are among the larger aspects of the plan. In total, the project is expected to take roughly a decade to complete and is projected to cost over ?300 billion ($2 billion).

Developers include Mitsui Fudosan, the Japan Sport Council, Itochu and Meiji Jingu, a religious organization that owns the land and maintains the shrine of the same name.

Among its reasons for supporting the project, the metropolitan government cites aging facilities, limited open green space and areas for pedestrians, insufficient accessible pathways, inadequate infrastructure and the chance to improve disaster preparedness.

Meiji Jingu Gaien, named in honor of Emperor Meiji and Empress Shoken, was completed in 1926 with private donations.

Its four rows of iconic, towering ginkgo trees, well known for their golden fall colors, were planted at the same time. The area was created as the counterpart of Jingu Naien, located in what is now Shibuya Ward.

Meiji Jingu Stadium ¡ª the current home of the Yakult Swallows baseball team ¡ª is known for being the site where legendary baseball player Babe Ruth hit several home runs during a tour...