Maehara holds firm on dam rejection

MAEBASHI, Gunma Pref. (Kyodo) Land minister Seiji Maehara told six governors from the Kanto region on Tuesday the administration will pursue its controversial cancellation of the Yamba Dam project in Gunma Prefecture but will come up with an alternative to the decades-long project.

Making his case: Land minister Seiji Maehara speaks at a meeting Tuesday in Maebashi, Gunma Prefecture, with six governors from the Kanto region with stakes in the controversial Yamba Dam project. KYODO PHOTO

It is the first time the governors of Chiba, Gunma, Ibaraki, Saitama, Tochigi and Tokyo, which hold stakes in the ¥460 billion project and joined hands to promote it, have together directly confronted the land, infrastructure, transport and tourism minister.

"We promised (the public) to change the way taxes are used from concrete to people," Maehara said at their meeting in Maebashi. "On the occasion of a change in government, we will review how dam projects should be."

As part of the review of nationwide dam projects, the Yamba Dam's projected purposes of flood control and water supply will be re-examined, Maehara said, adding, "I think we cannot convince you unless we present what kind of alternative is available."

The project dates back to 1952 and was planned to be completed in fiscal 2015.

"I think it would be easier for local people to come forward (for talks with the minister) if the cancellation policy is shelved," Chiba Gov. Kensaku Morita said in response.

Saitama Gov. Kiyoshi Ueda lashed out at Maehara.

"I feel that you made the decision just because it is written in the manifesto for the Lower House election, without considering the merits and demerits," Ueda charged.

Following the Democratic Party of Japan's election victory in August, Maehara has reiterated the party's intention to kill the project and called off the bidding process for the dam's main structure Oct. 2.

Stunned by the government's abrupt policy change, residents of the town of Naganohara, who have come to accept the 57-year-old project they initially opposed, boycotted a meeting with Maehara when he visited Sept. 23.

The six governors urged the government to retract the policy in a joint statement Oct. 19 after visiting the construction site in a show of unity.

Before departing for Tuesday's talks in Maebashi, Maehara told a news conference in Tokyo he has so far excluded Yamba and other dam projects that the DPJ vowed to cancel in its campaign platform from the planned review of more than 140 dam and water-control projects across Japan, but they will now be included.

His ministry will soon set up a team of experts to draw up criteria for the process, he added.