DPJ casts doubt on dam project

For decades the residents of Kawarayu Hot Spring have lived in the shadow of a dam that may now never be built.

The site of the proposed Yamba Dam project in Japan’s Gunma prefecture. The DPJ has cited the scheme for cancellation

To the surprise and bafflement of many in the hillside hamlet in Japan’s eastern Gunma prefecture, last month’s historic election victory by the opposition Democratic party has thrown into doubt the controversial Y460bn ($5bn, €3.5bn, £3bn) Yamba Dam project that has dominated local lives for the past half century.