The controversial Yoshino River dam project will be scrapped if residents of Tokushima hold a plebiscite and a majority of the voters oppose it, Construction Minister Katsutsugu Sekiya said Tuesday.
Sekiya's comment marks a turnaround from the ministry's earlier position that a local plebiscite should not decide the fate of such projects.
In February, the 40-member Tokushima Municipal Assembly, in a 22-16 vote with one abstention, rejected a petition bearing about 100,000 signatures to hold a plebiscite to gauge local opinions. The signatures, presented by opponents of the dam project, accounted for roughly half of the local electorate.
With your current subscription plan you can comment on stories. However, before writing your first comment, please create a display name in the Profile section of your subscriber account page.