Japan Press Weekly

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2023 August 9 - 15 [SOCIAL ISSUES]

JCP urges Environment Ministry to conduct PFAS health survey

A group of Japanese Communist Party parliamentarians, who are members of the JCP task force dealing with PFAS issues, on August 8 held a hearing with the Environment Ministry in the Diet building and urged the ministry to conduct a PFAS health investigation in communities where high levels of harmful chemicals have been found.

The communities in question include Tokyo’s Tama region and Okinawa Prefecture which host U.S. bases and Osaka’s Settsu City where a factory of Daikin, Japan’s leading A/C manufacturer, is located. The Environment Ministry, however, showed reluctance to accept the JCP demand.

JCP Upper House member Yamazoe Taku (JCP task force secretary general) noted that in the U.S., a threshold value of PFAS in blood is set at 20 nanogram per milliliter. He asked if the ministry intends to establish a standard in Japan for PFAS level in blood. The ministry gave no clear response.

JCP task force head Yamashita Yoshiki (Upper House) pointed out that in July, the ministry in its pamphlet wrote that no health damage caused by PFAS exposure has been reported. He said that it is unacceptable for the ministry to make such a statement without conducting a health survey.

Past related article:
> JCP Dietmembers examine PFAS contamination in Tokyo tap water [February 3, 2023]