Only in Japan would they propose something as outlandish as creating a "back up" city. According to an article on the World Architecture News website, the Japanese government has decided it's necessary to create a back up city for Tokyo to evacuate to if another colossal earthquake or other natural disaster ever occurred in the future. The new city would be located 300 miles west of Tokyo and would temporarily become the capital city if a state of emergency was declared in Tokyo.

Wait for the best bit.... the city's initial name is "IRTBBC" (Integrated Resort, Tourism, Business and Backup City). Could they not have come up with something a little more succinct and original? And it will feature "all the vital functions of government, with duplicate facilities for parliament, ministries but also include office complexes, resort facilities, casinos, parks and the tallest tower in the world at 652 meters" for some 50,000 residents. Because the important things in life are of course gambling in casinos and pouring millions of dollars into the tallest building in the world.

However, Hajime Ishii, a member of the ruling Democratic Party, puts it more simply, "The idea is being able to have a back-up, a spare battery for the functions of the nation." Interesting way to put it...

It sounds like a bit of a waste of money to me and surely if the city is only 300 miles away, there's a high chance it may be subject to the same natural disasters as Tokyo. What if the standby city get hits by an earthquake too? Let's just hope they don't decide it's a good idea to build any more nuclear power plants...