It’s official – the completion of all repairs on the castle is projected to take about 20 years. On the other hand, if all goes according to the current plan, the main keep (tenshukaku) will be repaired (or rebuilt?) in just three years.
In addition to the Asahi article (in English), I also took a look at the following Kumanichi article about the mayor’s press conference:
https://kumanichi.com/news/local/main/20160726007.xhtml 熊本城「２０年で復旧」 大西市長が意向示す
The Kumanichi article talked about rebuilding (再建) the main keep, not just repairing it. Also, it reported that the mayor has vowed to gradually put the restoration process on display for the public (復旧過程の段階的公開). Accordingly, in the not-too-distant future it should become possible for people to take tours of the castle grounds in which they observe and learn about the restoration process. Hopefully, that will allow castle tourism to recover long before the last repairs are finished.
– Kirk
