Cherry trees and organizational culture

These two trees outside the Camp Zama medical facility are more than mere landscaping. They're an important part of organizational culture. Accoding to a former MEDDAC employee that I'm currently sponsoring, there was a cherry tree or two that had to be cut down for the renovation that began in 2013. It was a point of much consternation, if I understand this right, because this was an important meeting/smoke break location.

So as way to get some buy-in from the local staff, the renovation plan came to include a provision for new cherry trees to be planted out front.
I haven't been able to independently confirm this account, but I find it plausible. People who've held their positions for a long time have a hard time with change, but change is (ironically) a constant feature of the U.S. military.

And with cherry trees being emblematic of Japanese culture, I can believe that these trees weren't anything that could blithely be discarded.