The Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries Ministry has informally decided to terminate a controversial national project to reclaim part of Lake Nakaumi in Shimane Prefecture, Prime Minister Yoshiro Mori effectively acknowledged Tuesday.
"I believe (the ministry decided its stance) based on its study and local opinion," Mori told reporters, responding to media reports that the farm ministry has decided to scrap the project, 37 years after construction work began.
Shizuka Kamei, policy affairs chief of the ruling Liberal Democratic Party, meanwhile, welcomed the decision, saying: "We haven't heard a formal decision from the ministry. But it's good that it decided to cancel the project on its own without troubling our party."