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2010 May 19 - 25 TOP3 [JCP]

JCP members are there for you

“It stinks so much that I can’t open the window because it’ll make me sick!” an inhabitant in Koga City in Ibaraki Prefecture complained. It was summer in 1999 when nearby residents noticed that industrial waste and sludge were being dumped in a corner of a field.

They went to an industrial waste dealer to complain about the smell, but the dealer defiantly said, “What’s wrong with it? That’s only compost!” He even threatened them by hinting at the possibility of violence and his connection with an ultra-rightist group. The city government was reluctant to deal with this problem, saying, “There’s nothing we can do because the dealer isn’t violating the law.” Representatives of a neighborhood community association were also cowed by the intimidation. “If the association is going to face off against the dealer, we will leave the association,” they said.

“Okay, if the association says it doesn’t want to do anything, I will.” Akiba, together with other people who were thinking that they had no other choice, formed a group called the Association to Protect the Residents’ Lives and Environment. He started going to a library everyday to look for answers. Finally, he came across the Offensive Odor Control Act and found out that the case of dumping of industrial waste by this dealer was illegal. The Association collected signatures from almost all inhabitants in the community and made representations to the city government and the city assembly, calling for the removal of industrial waste from the field. Eventually, their effort succeeded in forcing the city administration to settle the problem.

A member of the Association recalled, “Mr. Akiba is a small person but he is big in his action. He didn’t give an inch. He explained that the law was on our side, so we were able to act against the illegal dumping of industrial waste in our community. That was the power of a JCP activist, I thought.” Another member said, “He listened to us until one or two o’clock at night and handed us a typed petition the next morning. I thought this is because he is an active member of the JCP. I personally respect him a lot.”

The community’s agricultural committee easily issues permits to divert farmland for different uses. “This is the reason for the frequent cases of illegal dumping,” Akiba said, and he felt the need to eliminate the root cause. Last summer, he ran for a seat on the agricultural committee on the JCP ticket. He won the election and became the first communist member of the agricultural committee in Koga City.

One of members of the agricultural committee said, “It was the first experience for the committee to work with a communist, so at first we assumed that he would refuse to listen to our opinions. However, he is friendly and frank, and works very hard to responsibly fulfill his role as an agricultural committee member.”

Akiba became a JCP member 40 years ago. “What changed for you after you joined the JCP?” an Akahata reporter asked him. He answered, “Well, made many new friends!”
- Akahata, Sunday edition, May 23,2010