Even though the tap water has the country’s worst PFOA contamination, the top government officials are not fulfilling their responsibilities.

Kibichuo Town Mayor Masanori Yamamoto, despite the fact that the water supply needed to be stopped as soon as possible, decided to put aside his response and take part in a festival.

Okayama Prefecture Governor Ryuta Ibaragi did not attend the emergency meeting held at the prefectural office. Even when he appeared at a press conference, he did not mention the PFOA contamination himself. Although he answered questions from reporters, he emphasized that the prefecture was only in a position to support the town.

The residents had no choice but to act independently when they realized they could not rely on the government.

Kibichuo Town (photo by Nanami Nakagawa on May 30, 2024) 

A night without knowing about the contamination

One of them is Eiko Azuma.

Eiko learned about the ban on drinking tap water during the day on October 17, 2023. She was contacted by her friend, Kyoko Uehara (pseudonym), who lives nearby. She was told that the town would be holding an information session on the evening of the 17th.

The town issued a drinking water prohibition on the evening of the 16th. Kyoko was at home, feeding her two sons, aged two and six, curry and rice cooked with tap water. Her mother-in-law, who lived with her, heard the news and notified Kyoko.

However, Eiko was working in Okayama City at the time and did not hear the announcement that drinking tap water would be prohibited. Even after she came home, the notice had not been circulated, so she spent the night unaware that the water had been polluted.

After receiving a message from Kyoko, Eiko headed to the information session to find out what was going on.

Nonetheless, the explanations given by Mayor Yamamoto and other town officials were not satisfactory.

“There is no definitive information.”

“There won’t be any immediate health effects.”

The dangers of PFOA were hidden, and past contamination was not explained until residents began asking questions. Eiko felt the town was attempting to whitewash the situation.

The residents keep raising their hands to ask questions. Everyone is angry, but they’re not just exploding with emotion. Many of the questions are logical and seek to clarify the facts. However, the town continues to provide inadequate responses.

The mayor even went so far as to lie, claiming, “There are areas across the country where the numbers are even higher than Kibichuo Town.”

Eiko felt as though they were deceiving her.

The questions from residents continued, but the town cut the session short, blaming time constraints, and urged residents to go home.

Eiko said to Kyoko, who was sitting next to her.

“I’m not convinced.”

Kyoko felt the same way.

“I know, it’s unforgivable.”

A quickly made signature sheet

The next day, on the 18th, Eiko received a message from Kyoko.

“We can’t just leave it like this. Let’s have a strategy meeting.”

Eiko and Kyoko had calmed down after a night’s sleep, but they still couldn’t forgive the town’s response.

The two planned a signature campaign, collecting signatures and submitting them to the town to demand appropriate action. Eiko used her computer to create a petition sheet in between working hours.

Kyoko contacted Eiko and asked, “Is it okay if I invite Mr. Ogura to join?”

She was referring to Hiroshi Ogura, who lives nearby. He was the one who contacted Akihiko Kataoka, the town’s general affairs chief, to question him immediately after the town announced the ban on drinking tap water.  Kataoka’s only answer to the restriction on drinking tap water was that it was “bad for your health.” Even throughout the information session, the town only answered in a way that attempted to appease the residents. She was impressed by Hiroshi’s sharp questions during the session.

Eiko felt that if she was going to take action, she needed to give it a shape. She was nervous, of course, but there must be many residents like Kyoko who had children and were even more nervous. To correct the sloppy town administration, the residents needed to unite. Eiko readily agreed to Hiroshi’s participation.

“Don’t go against the administration!”

Eiko and Kyoko both work, so when they returned home on weekdays and weekends, they would go about posting petitions and knocking on doors to explain the situation.

“We have to do something about this.” While some residents felt a sense of crisis and signed the petition, others were not happy about the activity.

“Who gave you permission to do this?!”

“I’m old now, so it’s okay for me to get sick.”

“Don’t bring this stuff!”

One day, Kyoko received a phone call from a resident who said he had received a petition that had Kyoko and Eiko’s mobile phone numbers.

The call was from a person who said he’d lived in the town for decades.

“The administration says it’s okay, so don’t go against them!”

After putting the phone down, Kyoko became worried.

Are we wrong for what we are doing? We simply want to improve this poorly managed town, for the sake of the young children and the people who have lived here for a long time.

Kyoko moved to this town after getting married. Long-time residents may not want to stir things up by filing a complaint with the administration.

Kyoko decided to consult Hiroshi, who was born and raised in Kibichuo Town.

When she called and explained the situation, Hiroshi spoke in a calm voice.

“You are doing the right thing. Even if there are voices of opposition, you should not stop moving forward.”

Hiroshi respected Kyoko, saying that she was “taking action for the good of young children.”

Petition calling for action from Mayor Masanori Yamamoto of Kibichuo Town, compiled by the Enjo Water Purification Plant PFAS Issue Group

1,038 signatures submitted to Mayor Yamamoto Masanori

On November 10, Eiko and Hiroshi visited the town hall. Over the past three weeks, the residents have formed the “Enjo Water Purification Plant PFAS Issue Group” and collected 1,038 signatures.

When submitting their petition, they made the following two requests to the town:

・Conduct regular blood tests and health screenings for PFOA and PFOS at public expense

 

・Refund the past three years’ worth of water bills to residents of the Enjo district

The two handed the signatures to Mayor Yamamoto, and Eiko shared the stories she had heard from residents while collecting the signatures.

“What struck me was when an elderly person said, ‘My doctor told me to drink lots of water for my health and to prevent heat stroke, so I’ve been drinking a lot of water this summer…'”

Eiko was at a loss for words at this point. But she managed to muster the strength to continue.

“‘And yet, this has happened.'”

Hiroshi shared the voices of the residents to the press who had come to cover the event.

“There were people saying, ‘I’m angry at the town’s attitude and it needs to improve.'”

He then made the following appeal.

“I want the town to adopt an administrative system that can truly stand by the residents.”

Behind the phrase, “stand by the residents”

There is a reason why Hiroshi made this claim.

Mayor Yamamoto has repeatedly stated in public information sessions and in front of the media that he will “stand by the residents.” He has used the phrase like a catchphrase. Nevertheless, his words and actions are not consistent.

Moreover, the town had something it was hiding from its residents.

After the Bizen Public Health Center pointed out that high concentrations of PFOA had been detected, the town formed a task force and has been holding task force meetings, attended by the mayor, deputy mayor, and town officials at section chief level and above, with prefecture officials also attending as observers.

However, the mayor and deputy mayor had emphasized to town officials the content of the meeting.

“Do not disclose anything about this meeting.”

To be continued.

(Originally published in Japanese on July 9, 2024. Translation by Mana Shibata.)

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