Concerned lawmakers and citizen representatives met with Construction Minister Tsutomu Kawara on Friday to submit a written request urging the government to rethink plans for a dam on Tokushima Prefecture's Yoshino River.
Spurred to action by the approval of the project earlier in the week by a ministry advisory committee, two representatives of the Diet Members' Association for Mechanism for Public Works Review and two representatives from citizens' groups met with Kawara for about 30 minutes.
In the request addressed to the minister, citizens and lawmakers criticized the deliberation process as one-sided and showing a blatant disregard for public opinion.