The ruling Liberal Democratic Party on Friday decided to provide interest-free loans to people hit hard by an unprecedentedly bad seaweed crop in the Ariake Sea in Kyushu, party officials said.
The LDP will ask the government to shoulder the 1.8 percent interest on a special loan provided by Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries Finance Corp. -- a quasi-governmental financial organization -- and also increase the loan's limit from 2 million yen to 5 million yen. The loan was originally created to help those in the fishing industry suffering income losses due to natural disasters.
The poor crop is allegedly linked to the Isahaya Bay reclamation project.
Locals in Ariake say the seaweed started losing its natural blackish color, a guarantee of marketable quality, in the second half of last year. The loss of hue is reportedly caused by a rapid increase in plankton, but experts are split over the cause of the phenomena.
Earlier in the day, Prime Minister Yoshiro Mori instructed Fisheries Ministry officials to "do their utmost" to uncover the cause of the problem and take sufficient steps to help those who have suffered in Ariake.