Abstract
This article explores the reasons behind the continuation of contentious dam projects in Japanese river basins. Though the River Law of the country was reformed in 1997, and subsequent sociopolitical developments raised hopes that river governance would progress toward a more environment-oriented and bottom-up model, basin governance in Japan remains primarily based on a utilitarian vision that sees rivers as waterways. This article reviews the Achilles heel of the 1997 River Law by examining some most contentious river valley projects, and concludes that a myth of vulnerability to flooding, short-sightedness of river engineers, and bureaucratic inertia combine to place basin governance in a time warp: as projects planned during postwar reconstruction and economic growth continue to be top priorities in policymaking circles while concerns over environment remain largely unaddressed.
Highlights
On October 20, 2010, the largest selling daily in Japan, the Yomiuri Shimbun, featured a special report on the outlook for completion of some of the most debated river valley development projects in the country. This news report, based on an extensive survey in 56 prefectures and metropolitan bodies by the Yomiuri, claimed that there was strong support for continuation of all ongoing major river valley projects, including the bitterly disputed Yamba Dam project on the Agatsuma River valley in the Gunma Prefecture (Yomiuri Shimbun, 2010). This news story was extraordinary because the claimed evidence ran counter to a promise given by the Democratic Party of Japan (DPJ) that Japan will move away from building dams in its river basins and focus on a water governance scheme without depending on dams
Based on the foregoing discussion and the evidence generated by review of the relevant literature, and field research, this article comes to the conclusion that the Japanese river governance policy is caught in a time warp
The sensitive topic of the Giant Salamander’s habitat destruction as a result of the Kawakami Dam has made dam construction authorities run their own surveys on the impact of the dam, and they claim that the impact will be minimal and can be ameliorated through artificial preservation schemes
Summary
On October 20, 2010, the largest selling daily in Japan, the Yomiuri Shimbun, featured a special report on the outlook for completion of some of the most debated river valley development projects in the country. The opposition movement against the Nagara Rivermouth barrage became a symbol of opposition to large river valley projects: All over the country, independent voices grew increasingly critical, and demands to appreciate and conserve basin environments grew stronger (Ito et al, 2003; Okada, Tatano, & Takagi, 2008; Waley, 2005). This momentum led to a fundamental change in the laws that governed rivers in Japan, and in 1997, the “New” River Law was passed (Wada, 2009). A prominent example of this is the Shimanto River in Shikoku
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