Makoto Koga, secretary general of the ruling Liberal Democratic Party, on Thursday said a state-run land reclamation project in Isahaya Bay, Nagasaki Prefecture, should be halted so the cause of the poor seaweed crop in the area can be investigated.
Koga's comments came during a meeting with a group of fishermen from Fukuoka Prefecture who were in Tokyo to ask the government to halt the project, which they blame for the poor crop. Koga said the water gates on the project should also be reopened.
"The first thing that should be done is to halt the project," he said. "Opening of the gates is the biggest issue. The LDP is willing to back you up on this issue."
Koga also spoke to reporters after the meeting.
"There is no way we can gain approval from local people without halting the project and opening the gates," he said.
The gates were shut in 1997.
A total of 263 fishermen came to Tokyo to urge the government to halt the project. Of them, 130 visited Yoshio Yatsu, minister of agriculture, forestry and fisheries, to deliver a petition signed by some 122,000 people.
Another group demonstrated in Tokyo's Kasumigaseki district, where government ministries are located.
Isahaya Bay is part of the Ariake Sea, an almost landlocked body of water surrounded by the prefectures of Nagasaki, Kumamoto, Saga and Fukuoka.