[JP] Maglev Revives 'Return the Water' Movement

[latestnews]

[JP] Maglev Revives 'Return the Water' Movement: Exceptional Compensation Extracted from JR Central
Source: Asahi Shimbun
Original title:
リニアが呼び覚ました「水返せ」の記憶　JRから引き出した異例補償
Date: July 27, 2026, 08:00
Original language: Japanese
Web link: https://www.asahi.com/articles/ASV7R0T3 ... B001M.html
Accessed: July 27, 2026

In October 2025, Shimada City Mayor Kinuyo Someya conducted her 16th field inspection of the Oigawa River headwaters, Tashiro Dam, and excess soil storage areas near the Shizuoka maglev section. She stated: “[Translated quote] As long as I am mayor, I will confirm the site with my own eyes every year,” and always brings new department heads.

The “water problem” began in September 2013, when JR Central published an estimate that tunnel construction could reduce Oigawa River flow by 2 tons per second—just four months after Someya became mayor. The river supports 600,000 people in its basin. Historically, hydroelectric dams reduced its flow so severely that sections became a “riverbed desert,” sparking a 1980s “water return movement” against power companies. Someya recalled: “[Translated quote] The anxiety and concerns of the basin municipalities were stirred up all at once.”

JR Central’s initial response was “cold.” Shimada City repeatedly requested explanation sessions, but “[Translated quote] we were told ‘we cannot do it.’” Yaizu City Mayor Hiroyuki Nakano said: “[Translated quote] Not limited to the maglev issue, I felt they had a top-down attitude.” In 2018, basin municipalities united, forming the Oigawa River Water Use Council with the prefecture to centralize negotiations. Yoshida Town Mayor Norihiko Tamura pointed out: “[Translated quote] Thanks to former Governor Kawakatsu taking the lead and moving, the water issue was highlighted,” adding: “[Translated quote] A sense of unity between the prefecture and basin municipalities was fostered.”

JR Central’s countermeasures evolved: in 2015, it proposed partial water return via diversion tunnels; in 2022, it finally offered to limit dam inflow to maintain river levels. After Governor Kawakatsu resigned in 2024 and was replaced by Governor Suzuki, discussions accelerated.
In January 2026, the prefecture and JR Central exchanged a confirmation document on compensation for any water resource impacts, with no time limits on claims and no burden of proof for locals. In March, the prefecture’s expert panel approved all of JR Central’s countermeasures. On July 7, Governor Suzuki announced construction approval.

Reflecting on over a decade of discussions, Someya stated: “[Translated quote] I have come to recognize that the risks of the water problem have been mostly resolved, but uncertainty due to construction remains. If we had let it pass, we would not have been able to investigate this deeply or have these discussions. We were able to reach agreements that are not concluded in other prefectures. It was definitely not a waste of time.”
Shimada plans further inspections, including an October visit to the Shizuoka section’s frontline construction yard. The prefecture, coordinating with the national government, established a new monitoring subcommittee to check construction impacts and alleviate basin residents’ anxieties.