BY YUZURU HONDO

The Construction Ministry proposed the plan to build a movable dam across the Yoshino-gawa River in Tokushima Prefecture as a public large-scale project with about a 103-billion-yen budget. A settlement dam, built about 250 years ago, has been used till now. This dam has become superannuated and is liable to collapse with a heavy rain. Under the plan, the ramshackle dam will be replaced with a movable dam so that the river can run without obstacle, as the old dam closes off the flow.

Some residents oppose the project. They say it is bad for the environment, that the old dam can be repaired, and it is a waste of taxpayers' money. The opposing citizens conducted a campaign collecting signatures to demand a plebiscite for approval or disapproval. The plebiscite of Tokushima City was realized on January 23, on the condition that the ballot would not be counted if the voter turnout did not go beyond 50 percent. The result was that the voter turnout was 55 percent and over 90 percent of the votes were for disapproval. The Tokushima City Government stated that it stands for disapproval after receiving the results of the plebiscite. On the other hand, the Construction Ministry regards the result as "a will of a part of the residents in the river basin" and does not appear to intend to cancel the plan.

It is remarkable that there is a significant difference between the approving and disapposing residents on the concept of the flood control. The proponents take the stand of preparing for a flood which is said to happen once in 150 years. If they cannot prevent the flood even with the wisdom received from their ancestors over hundreds of years, the opponents will bow before the power of nature. Without mutual understanding, the solution to this problem will be difficult.

Though this was the first plebiscite for a national public project, the ballot enabled us to see that there are some active citizens who try to control politics themselves instead of entrusting it to the politicians. The opponent's reason that it is a waste of taxpayers' money shows that the concept is changing that it is always a good thing to have money rain on the city. The plebiscite is an epoch-making event which shows a model of citizen-level action.

On the other side of the coin, the plebiscite left some problems. The biggest one is the way the plebiscite was conducted. Helped by the voter turnout requirement, opposing residents had been making appeals for "a vote for disapproval" on the street. On the other hand, proponents determined to reject the ballot, and called on people not to vote. Though some proponents exercised the right to vote, those two movements were naturally reflected in a low voter turnout of 55 percent. It is doubtful whether the result that 90 percent of the entire vote was for disapproval is enough to be a finishing blow to the plan.

Moreover, related to this, the fact that the plebiscite was conducted only in Tokushima City has become a problem. The Yoshino-gawa River flows through two cities and six towns. Accordingly the control of this river does not belong to only the Construction Ministry and Tokushima City. In particular, the three towns near the construction site would unavoidably be damaged by a flood, and the same plebiscites should have been conducted in these towns. Though some plebiscites have been conducted concerning nuclear power plant construction before, all of them were conducted on the Japanese Government's policy in only one self-governing body. The plebiscite could certainly have been conducted in the towns around the river.

The chain of events in the movable dam construction problem of the Yoshino-gawa River gave us some problems to tackle. The citizens' participation in politics, esteem for local self-governing bodies, the way administrations work, and such problems now need to be discussed repeatedly and thoroughly. The era is about to change from the 20th century to the 21st. This change means not only the centuries, the way society exists also has to evolve. It is hoped that Japanese administration will seek new policy, and we need turn our eyes to the neverending question, coexistence with nature.