Floodgates of Isahaya Bay Dike Remain Closed Amid Dispute

a floodgates (front) of the Isahaya Bay dike in Nagasaki, Japan. A wide area of tidal land disappeared after the government in 1997 closed a wall of floodgates in the bay in the western part of the Ariake Sea for a land reclamation project. Since then, a series of lawsuits has been filed over the project, not only by fishermen but also farmers who are using the reclaimed land. The government was ordered to open some of the floodgates for an environmental assessment, but it has not complied.