Two Arrested for Violating Waste Management Law Over Soil Runoff at Temple in Izu

On the 8th, the Izu Chuo Police and the Shizuoka Prefectural Police窶冱 Living Safety Division arrested Motomi Ohno (69), the representative director of the religious corporation “Heiwaji Honzan,” and Waichi Ohno (87), the self-proclaimed head priest, on suspicion of violating the Waste Management Law (disobeying a dynamic administrative order). The arrests follow an ongoing issue where soil mixed with waste, illegally dumped on the temple’s grounds in Ohira-Kakinoki, Izu City, flowed into municipal land and the Kakinoki River.

The two suspects are accused of failing to comply with an administrative order issued by the prefecture in September 2021. The order required the corporation and its officers to remove all waste窶琶ncluding plastic scraps窶杯hat had leaked off-site and to implement measures to prevent further runoff by the end of March 2022. According to the police, Waichi is the former representative director and the adopted son of Motomi’s father.

The issue first came to light in June 2020. Following reports from local residents, prefectural and municipal authorities conducted an on-site investigation, confirming collapsed soil mounds on the premises and waste accumulated in the mountainside leading to the Kakinoki River. It was discovered that 2,200 cubic meters of soil mixed with waste had flowed outside the property. While the corporation filed an appeal with the Ministry of the Environment in December 2021 to overturn the order, the request was dismissed. The prefecture subsequently filed a criminal complaint against the two men in February of this year.

According to city officials, waste-laden soil remains piled on the site, and the possibility of further runoff into the river cannot be ruled out.

The prefecture has allocated funds in its fiscal 2023 budget for survey and design costs in preparation for administrative subrogation (carrying out the cleanup on behalf of the owner). Preparations are underway, including a briefing held for local residents last February to explain the planned execution. An official from the Prefectural Waste Recycling Division stated, “We will continue to demand that the corporation comply with the order, but we are also keeping administrative subrogation in view as an option.”