Mountains northeast of Tokyo have become blighted by tons of toxic waste and industrial rubble dumped by unscrupulous contractors, including some hired to clear debris from areas hit by the March 2011 Great East Japan Earthquake and tsunami.
By the summer, more than 100 truckloads had been dumped on upland wooded slopes in Hitachiota, Ibaraki Prefecture, a 59-year-old former land manager who accepted the waste has said.
Much of the rubble came from construction sites across the Kanto region, and has scarred otherwise pristine woodland in for the past three years.