On December 19, 2025, the Settsu City Council in Osaka Prefecture unanimously passed a request to the government regarding health surveys. The written opinion was submitted by the Conservative Citizens’ Association.

In Settsu City, residents are expressing concern over high concentrations and widespread PFOA contamination caused by Daikin Industries.

However, the government’s PFAS guidelines, which outline how local governments should respond to PFAS, do not ease concerns. For this reason, the written opinion strongly criticized them, calling them “vague and unclear in terms of implementation,” and demanded specific measures.

The written opinion will be submitted to the government in accordance with Article 99 of the Local Autonomy Act.

“Health surveys need to be conducted to alleviate concerns”

The city council pointed out that extremely high concentrations of PFOA have been detected in Settsu City and that residents have expressed health concerns, and argued that “blood tests and health surveys are necessary to alleviate concerns.”

The Ministry of the Environment announced in its “Guidelines for Response to PFOS and PFOA (2nd Edition)” published in November 2024 that “blood tests may be considered in epidemiological studies to clarify the health effects of PFOS or PFOA.” The written opinion pointed out that the guidelines are “ambiguous, and there are many unclear points for local governments regarding their specific implementation.” It demanded that guidelines be established that consider the four points listed below.

1. Establish scientific methods for epidemiological studies, including blood tests, related to health surveys of PFOS or PFOA.

 

2. Establish a support system for counseling and other matters related to health surveys.

 

3. Establish health standards for PFAS through cohort studies, etc.

 

4. Provide financial support to local governments and other organizations that conduct health surveys of their residents.

In response to Daikin’s PFAS pollution, on December 13, 2025, affected residents and lawyers with experience in pollution cases formed the “PFAS Pollution Mediation Committee against Daikin.” Currently, over 750 residents, including many from Settsu City and Osaka City, have joined the petition, seeking health surveys and compensation for damages. They plan to file a pollution mediation petition with Osaka Prefecture on the 23rd of this month.

(Originally published in Japanese on December 19, 2025. Translation by Mana Shibata.)

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