Long after the incinerators have been shut down, the dioxin problems in Osaka Prefecture and elsewhere will linger on.
"The dioxin problem in our town will fade from memory and people will think the problems here must have been solved long ago," said Osamu Yagi, a member of the town assembly in Nose, northern Osaka Prefecture.
But it is clear that Nose and nearby Toyono are a long way from solving their problems with the carcinogen known to cause birth defects.
Large amounts of high-level dioxin, contaminated soil and other contaminated material remain in the towns more than four years after they were first detected.