Collapse of Tokyo's aging cherry blossom trees during viewing season raises safety concerns

Tokyo's aging cherry blossom trees are collapsing, raising safety concerns during the beloved hanami viewing season.

Many of Tokyo's popular and iconic Somei Yoshino cherry blossom trees were planted during Japan's postwar advancement in the 1960s, and are now getting old and frail.

Some have fallen, and many others require support, triggering safety concerns as the Japanese celebrate the season of their favourite flower.

Two cherry blossom trees collapsed on Thursday (April 2, 2026), one at Kinuta Park in downtown Tokyo and the other at the Chidorigafuchi greenway. The one in Kinuta Park damaged a fence while the other tree almost fell into the Imperial Palace moat, though nobody was injured.

The tree in Kinuta Park was 18 metres (59 feet) tall and 2.5 metres (8.2 feet) in diametre. It was among the oldest, believed to be more than 60 years old, officials said. In March, another old cherry tree collapsed at the park, injuring a passerby.

Last year, 85 trees fell in Tokyo parks, injuring three people, and many were cherry trees, according to Masakazu Noguchi, a Tokyo metropolitan official in charge of public parks.

People gather under the trees during the season of hanami, or cherry blossom viewing, and the collapse of trees has alarmed officials in Tokyo, the birthplace of the cherry blossom variety.