 Fishermen denounce high court decision allowing resumption of Isahaya's reclamation project The Fukuoka High Court on May 15 rejected a lower court decision ordering the government to suspend the land reclamation project in Isahaya Bay in Nagasaki Prefecture, arousing strong criticism from among fishers and lawyers as well as the Japanese Communist Party. While acknowledging the causal relationship between the reclamation project and damage to the fishing industry in the bay, the high court stated that the damage of reduced catch of fish cannot be precisely attributed to the project, and actually sided with the government project. The Saga District Court last August acknowledged that the damage could be attributed to the project, and the government appealed to the high court. Following the decision, fishers, lawyers, and their supporters held an emergency meeting in front of the court building, saying, "The decision amounts to a betrayal by the court. How many fishers must give up fishing?" Fisherman Hashimoto Takeshi said, "I cannot accept this decision. We will fight until we regain the Ariake Sea, a rich field of beautiful treasures." Chief lawyer Manaki Akio noticed that the ruling will be overruled by the Environmental Disputes Coordination Commission's report on the matter to be issued by this autumn. "The water gate established under the project must be opened so that the Ariake Sea can be revived," he said. * * * Japanese Communist Party Secretariat Head Ichida Tadayoshi the same day at the press conference criticized the court decision for allowing the government to resume the controversial project, though it partly acknowledges its casual correlationship of the affair. "European countries have established a 'preventive principle' banning development projects that may cause environmental destruction. The high court knows nothing about the environmental issue," Ichida said. - Akahata, May 17, 2005 |