Last September the Japanese government was stunned by a lawsuit filed with the Tokyo District Court by 3,861 residents of Indonesia's Sumatra Island. The plaintiffs said their life had been disrupted by a dam for hydroelectric power and flood control built with Japan's official development assistance. Each resident sought 5 million yen in damages.
The plaintiffs also demanded that the Japanese government and the state-run Japan Bank for International Cooperation urge the Indonesian government and the local power utility to remove the dam and restore the natural environment. It was the first lawsuit filed by foreign nationals holding the Japanese government responsible for ODA-related problems.
Last month the Indonesian Environmental Forum, or WALHI, filed another suit in Tokyo against the dam on behalf of 4,535 residents in the same area as well as endangered animals such as elephants, tigers and tapirs. The plaintiffs said they filed the suits because: