South China Morning Post
Julian Ryall
15 Apr 2026
The operator of Japan’s Narita International Airport is considering compulsory acquisition of farmers’ land to complete a planned third runway, recalling the forced land purchases that led to violent clashes between riot police and local residents when the airport was built in the 1960s.
Narita International Airport Corporation (NAA) has been able to secure 88.4 per cent of the land it requires to finish the extension of the existing 2,500-metre second runway at the airport and construct a new 3,500-metre third runway to meet soaring demand from business and leisure travellers.
Originally, NAA had planned to open the new runway in March 2029 and increase the number of landing and take-off slots from 340,000 a year at present to 500,000, but in a meeting with Transport Minister Yasushi Kaneko on April 2, NAA president Naoki Fujii confirmed that the deadline would have to be pushed back...
