The Day the Green Slope Cried: Unauthorized Development and the Chain of Environmental Destruction (April 1995, Seto City, Aichi Prefecture)

The Day the Green Slope Cried: Unauthorized Development and the Chain of Environmental Destruction (April 1995, Seto City, Aichi Prefecture)

Spring, 1995. In Japan, where the aftermath of the collapse of the bubble economy had not yet cooled, suburban forests were quietly disappearing. In Seto City, Aichi Prefecture, residential land development was proceeding, cutting down mountains and burying valleys as if they were encroaching on slopes. By the time local residents realized what was happening, the trees had already been cut down and unauthorized construction had begun.

The housing land developers mercilessly chipped away at the mountain slopes without obtaining permission from the government. The ground was weakened by logging and heavy machinery traffic, and landslides were feared every time it rained. In addition, the residents had long depended on spring water for their daily water supply, which became muddy, threatening the very foundation of their lives. The city's investigation revealed the illegality of the project and ordered the contractor to stop construction, but the wounds inflicted on nature did not heal easily.

This incident highlighted the inadequacies of the environmental impact assessment system (assessment). The vulnerability of small-scale development, which was not covered by the system nationwide, was revealed, and the reality that "destruction as a point" can undermine ecosystems in a chain reaction was recognized. As a result, a review of the assessment system was debated in the Diet, and this triggered a growing movement to adopt ordinances at the local government level as well.

The residents of Seto City not only raised their voices as victims, but also conducted on-site monitoring activities and appealed for environmental conservation. Their actions eventually became a force that encouraged citizen-participatory environmental administration, spreading a wave of awareness from the local community to society as a whole. The awareness that the act of unauthorized development is not merely a violation of the law, but an act of violence against the environment and an irreversible criminal act, finally began to take root.