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Lake Shinji and Nakaumi Projects

The project to desalt the two lakes whose water is a mixture of fresh water and sea water, started in 1963 but has basically been suspended since 1988 due to the fear of unsatisfactory water quality. Public money was already expended in the amount of 85.1 billion yen (700 million dollars), which is the largest amount for a discarded public works project in Japan. Since around 1963 when the project began, the Japanese Communist Party opposed the reckless and wasteful project and helped develop opposition movements with residents and researchers. In 1984, the number of signatures against the project reached 320,000. In 1996, 540,000 signatures were collected nationwide against resuming the project.

Liu Zonggen's lawsuit against Japan over his forced labor

In 1944, about 200 Chinese in Henan Province in China were brought to the Oeyama firm in Kyoto, and thrown into brutal labor condtions for almost one year in the mines, from early morning till late at night with inadequate food and clothing, and without payment.