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Abenomics especially hard on Japan's environment

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The efforts by the government of Prime Minister Shinzo Abe to revive Japan's economy through various initiatives, referred to collectively as Abenomics, have certainly had their ups and downs. But up to now, little criticism has been heard about the negative impact such efforts have had on Japan's environment.

One of the "arrows" of Abenomics has been large-scale infrastructure building projects of questionable necessity aimed at stimulating the moribund economy. According to Spa! (May 17), this has spelled disaster for both rural and urban areas.

Takaaki Hirame, a fisherman living in Monbetsu, northeastern Hokkaido -- famous for its drift ice -- points to a beach where his house used to be located. Hirame, along with four or five other fishing families who harvested "hokki-gai" -- a type of clam served in many sushi shops, had lived there. But after construction of the Nibutani Dam, the river that flowed into the sea at that point shifted its channel, and the result has been a disaster for local fishermen.

The nearby ocean had been a cornucopia of sea life, including "shishamo" (sometimes referred to as "willow leaf fish"), righteye flounder, octopi and crabs. The catch of "shishamo" has been reduced to one fiftieth of what it had been before.

The unanticipated buildup of silt and sludge in the dam far exceeded the builder's estimates and moreover none of the secondary usage planned for the waters, such as for flood control, irrigation or hydroelectric power generation were ever realized. All Nibutani has done is consume tax money.

But did the Abe government have the sense to pull the plug on further waste? Apparently not. In 2013, long-mothballed plans for another dam located upstream from the Nibutani, the Hiratori dam, were revived at an estimated cost of 57.3 billion yen.

Near Haneda International Airport, meanwhile, a section of tidal flats that serve as a haven for migrating birds are also under threat. If the plan (estimated budget, 30 billion yen) for a 600-meter long connecting road and bridge -- proposed in order to expedite visiting VIPs' access to the so-called "international strategic special economic zones" -- goes through, according to wildlife advocate Tomoko Shimura, the birds' habitat may be wiped out.

The World Wildlife Foundation is among the NGOs that have already conveyed displeasure with the plan. According to Takashi Ishii of the Kanagawa branch of the Japan Bird Watchers' Society, only about 10% remains of the original tidal flats that once existed along Tokyo Bay. "It's a miracle there are any birds or wildlife left at all," he says.

"The new bridge might reduce driving time by five minutes," Ishii pleads. "But not enough consideration has been given to the necessity for a bridge, or possible alternatives. I really want more people to know what is happening here."

After critical examination of the disastrous environmental impact on sea life that huge anti-tsunami coastal barriers are likely to impose on three prefectures in Tohoku, Spa! moves to yet another controversial project in greater Tokyo: the network of external ring roads totaling 85 kilometers, with a total estimated budget of 1.3 trillion yen and completion date scheduled just before the 2020 Tokyo Olympics, has already aroused over 100,000 residents to sign petitions opposing construction.

"The road construction is planned in areas rich in subterranean water resources," explains Yasutaka Otsuka, a member of "Gaikan Net," one of the groups opposing construction. "Tunnels will sever the east-to-west flow of the waters, resulting in ground settlement by several tens of centimeters and drying up of wells."

True, efforts are being made to engage residents along the planned road sections in so-called "PI" (public involvement). But Yutaku Tashiro, member of a local citizens group, notes that while in foreign countries people likely to be affected by construction projects are typically accorded certain rights, such is not the case in Japan.

"Here, the builders and officials will listen politely to what residents have to say, but in the end, they always go through with their plans," says Tashiro.

© Japan Today

©2024 GPlusMedia Inc.

24 Comments
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Well, in this case we can hardly just blame Abenomics. The environment has always come very far behind government boondoggles in importance since the 50s. Hence all the misplaced dams and concreted rivers and coastlines, as well as the replacement of native forest with plantations everywhere. And for the most part there has been very little opposition so at least it is encouraging to read of some here.

12 ( +13 / -1 )

The damn was not built during the Abe administration, it takes years for a project that large and the problems proceed Abe's administration. However Abe is guilty of continuing the policies that have exacerbated the damage.

11 ( +11 / -0 )

Nice reporting JT, keep it up.

The whole "Abenomics" should be retitled "Damenomics". Too bad information like this doesn't get more exposure to the general public. Honestly though, the general public might just change the channel to the guy with the Sake cask on his back or any variety of Varitey shows.

16 ( +16 / -0 )

The people of Japan are lucky to have inaccessible mountains as a refuge. Anything on level ground is fenced off and concreted over to the detriment of the natural environment.....

12 ( +13 / -1 )

Abe has no concept of business. Not surprising because he has no experience either. His financial plans benefit his friends and relations in the short term.

Imagine what it would be like if we had a PM who DID have an understanding of business and who had experience and skills in finance.

We can but dream!

11 ( +12 / -1 )

The whole "Abenomics" should be retitled "Damenomics".

Noriko Hama refers to it as AHOnomics. Has done since day one. She was right. Not one good thing, not one, has come to pass since ahonomics came to pass

11 ( +11 / -0 )

Should be more correctly termed how the ldp have continued unabated to destroy the countryside & waste many many trillions of yen in a constant ongoing rape of the landscape & massive pilfering from all our wallets!

11 ( +11 / -0 )

Since Abenomics is “to put priority on economic development, rather than valuing human life", it comes with no surprise that trashing the environment is an acceptable downside, a quick look at Fukushima is clearly demonstrating that more money has been invested in Tepco than in the region.

11 ( +11 / -0 )

lions and tigers and bears everywhere,,, along with monkeys, and some random gaijin.

brilliant! that was brilliant!

4 ( +4 / -0 )

and some random gaijin.

Hey I resemble that remark!!

2 ( +2 / -0 )

Great article, JT. Mind your backs.

4 ( +4 / -0 )

Have to chime in on two points made above. Regardless of the pretty weak examples given in the article, nobody can tell me that Japan is worse now, or somehow backsliding, in terms of the environment. What about the renewable FIT, which is perhaps the most generous in the world? The government has done exactly what Greenpeace demanded, and shut down all nuclear plants. Aren't we happy yet? We just had an article the other day about NGOs comparing Minamata to Fukushima, and blaming all that on government, but neglecting to note that pressure by NGOs has pushed Japan to using more coal, which will eventually put MORE mercury and MORE radionuclides into the environment than nuclear power ever did. I am pretty sure environmentalists don't know WHAT they want these days. I just know that they consume environmentally dangerous products and use a lot of electricity.

Secondly, I don't know where YOU live, but where I live, nature is getting the upper hand. This will probably be the fifth year without pesticides in my region, despite the looming threat of West Nile, Dengue and now Zika. We have foxes, tanuki, monkeys, kamoshika, snakes, birds of all kinds, frogs, newts... did I say monkeys? Bears and boars too. I suspect that too many environmentalists have trapped themselves in some kind of urban coffin and don't get out much. Marine environments off the coast are coming back strong from 3/11. The areas around Fukushima Daiichi are teeming with healthy feral wildlife.

A couple of lame examples in the article notwithstanding, seriously, an airport??, I think Japan is becoming a world class destination for people who like climbing, hiking, and camping.

-6 ( +2 / -9 )

*international strategic special economic zones***

what is this, and where is it located? Never heard of it.

3 ( +3 / -0 )

The only person to get a hard on over Abenomics, Is the king of the concrete Mafia himself !

1 ( +3 / -2 )

This is one of the more disturbing elements of Abe and the LDP's return. When the DPJ came to office in 2009 they explicitly campaigned against this kind of stuff and it looked like the days of blithely coating every inch of the country in concrete might finally be over. Too bad they only stayed inpower for three years.

8 ( +8 / -0 )

Rainyday brings up a great point. Let's all journey back to those halcyon days of the DPJ when Japan was a wonderland.

Remember everybody? When one Prime Minister got nailed by the tax authorities because of a multimillion dollar "loan" from his mommy? And the other whose claim to fame was a helicopter ride to Fukushima Daiichi to say, like Leslie Nielsen "Good luck, we're all counting on you!" to TEPCO. What about their manifesto promising free highways for everyone (yippee!).

What a pack of incompetents those boobs were. They failed daily for years.

And please let's not forget that if one is inclined to blame Fukushima Daiichi on blown oversight, that occurred on Kan's watch. Or let's blame the whole DPJ, shall we?

Point being, of course, that blaming the LDP or Abenomics is nonsense. At best it is a red herring. Anyone who knows anything, and I mean ANYTHING about Japan knows that the ministries pull all the strings and make all the deals. The failure of the DPJ to accomplish anything was a failure to accept that they could only do what the ministries would let them do. Then let's acknowledge that the Environment Ministry regularly wins battles against the MOF and others. A recent example would be nixing a bid by coal generating electricity providers for TEPCO.

Japan is doing much better on environmental issues than other countries. I think the criticism of Abenomics is not only wrong, it is unjustified.

-3 ( +1 / -5 )

Takaaki Hirame, a fisherman living in Monbetsu, northeastern Hokkaido—famous for its drift ice—points to a beach where his house used to be located. Hirame, along with four or five other fishing families who harvested “hokki-gai”—a type of clam served in many sushi shops, had lived there. But after construction of the Nibutani Dam, the river that flowed into the sea at that point shifted its channel, and the result has been a disaster for local fishermen.

Reporter done goofed.

Nibutani Dam is on the Saru River, which flows into the Pacific at the southern coast of Hokkaido. The Monbetsu with drift ice is on the Okhotsk Coast, a completely different watershed and even a different sea. The Monbetsu near the Saru River (Hidaka Monbetsu) has never gotten drift ice. The reporter is confusing the Hidaka town with the Okhotsk city.

3 ( +2 / -0 )

Reporter done goofed.

Not surprising. Spa! is essentially a tabloid magazine. It specialty is young women with large chests and small bikinis.

http://nikkan-spa.jp/magazine

0 ( +2 / -2 )

For all the Panama Papers talk about the possibility of taxes not being paid, you read this article and conversely think that the government ought to be starved of money, not given even more.

2 ( +2 / -1 )

Despite all what has been said,Japanese still vote for LDP,and approval rate of Abe and his cabinet raised by 3%,what does this mean?A question doesnt need an answer:)

-4 ( +1 / -5 )

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