Buried Cries, Judged Silence: Teshima, Environmental Crime and the Dawn of Administrative Responsibility (2000)

Buried Cries, Judged Silence: Teshima, Environmental Crime and the Dawn of Administrative Responsibility (2000)

Teshima is a small island in the Seto Inland Sea in Kagawa Prefecture. The island's illegal dumping of 600,000 tons of industrial waste came to light in 1990, bringing into question the depths of Japan's environmental administration. The waste, which was piled up in the open without being incinerated, was exposed to rain and became toxic leachate that poisoned the soil and the oceans. More serious, however, was the Kagawa prefectural government's "failure to supervise" and tolerate the devastation.

The islanders were besieged by the stench and pollution, but they did not remain silent. The Teshima Residents' Association filed a petition for pollution arbitration and confronted the government head-on. In 1997, they were able to reach a conciliation agreement, the first in Japan's pollution history, in which Kagawa Prefecture accepted full responsibility for the disposal of the waste. The subsequent removal of the wastes evolved into the unprecedented project of transporting the wastes to Naoshima for disposal.

In 2000, tensions were running high among local governments throughout Japan. No longer were they simply issuing permits for waste disposal; they were beginning to move into an era of monitoring, correction, and accountability. The Teshima Incident was a major turning point in the creation of the foundation for a "recycling-oriented society" by questioning the power relationship between industry, government, and citizens.

Waste is not the only thing piled up in places unseen. It is negligence, indifference, and a vacuum in the system. The winds that blew on the Teshima landfill site also shook the stacks of government offices throughout Japan. It was not only the crimes of corporations that were judged. The silence of the government itself was called into question.

The Teshima Incident began in the late 1970s and 1980s, when a company licensed by Kagawa Prefecture set up what it called an "intermediate treatment facility" on the island. The reality, however, was that the waste continued to be piled up in the open without incineration or other treatment, a malicious practice that the prefectural government virtually left unchecked.

In 1990, the residents, noticing the increasingly foul odor and pollution, launched an investigation and appealed to the Environment Agency. In 1992, after news reports spread nationwide, the Environmental Agency acknowledged that "Kagawa Prefecture was responsible to a certain extent," but the prefecture still denied responsibility, and the situation remained deadlocked.

In 1996, the residents finally decided to take legal action and applied for conciliation with the Pollution Control Board. In 1997, a settlement was reached in which Kagawa Prefecture clearly acknowledged its "supervisory responsibility" and promised to remove and dispose of the 600,000 tons of waste. This conciliation was a landmark step in Japan's environmental history, and waste treatment began at a dedicated facility built on Naoshima Island.

From 1999 to 2000, the removal and transfer of the waste began in earnest, with the final cost expected to exceed 10 billion yen. In the process, local governments throughout Japan were forced to reconfirm their own supervisory obligations and to strengthen their guidance and monitoring systems for industrial waste contractors.

This incident is not just a local waste problem. It was an awakening of Japanese society to the realization that the government must not be a bystander to environmental destruction, and it symbolized the transition to an era in which "turning a blind eye" would be held legally accountable. The scars of Teshima continue to question our institutions and conscience.