Company executive arrested for illegally embanking in Fukushima Prefecture, first suspected of violating regulatory laws in the wake of Atami debris flow

In June, there was a case in Fukushima Prefecture in which a 61-year-old earth and sand disposal company executive was arrested for building an illegal embankment. A company executive said in an interview, ``We transported earth and sand from construction work near Tokyo to Fukushima. There was a need for it,'' explaining that the move was a necessary evil. What is currently happening to the embankments, which were regulated in the wake of the debris flow disaster in Atami City, Shizuoka Prefecture five years ago?

"This is clearly not the soil around here" "This is a hidden gem"

"It's clearly not soil from around here, with concrete pieces and shells mixed in."

A few years ago, a man living in Yamatsuri Town, Fukushima Prefecture, near the Ibaraki Prefectural border, noticed dump trucks loaded with earth and sand coming and going near his home. At the end of the mountain path, there was a mound of earth about 30 meters high.

Fukushima Prefectural Police arrested a company executive from Ibaraki Prefecture for illegally creating this embankment. According to prefectural police, this was the first person in the country to be arrested on suspicion of violating the Embankment Regulation Act, which was created in the wake of the Atami disaster.

Company executives reportedly bought land in Yamatsuri Town and began bringing in earth and sand around June 2023. A man who witnessed the dump truck said with a sigh, ``Perhaps the land that was abandoned due to population decline was bought.This must be a hidden gem.''

Sediment moving north: ``Regulations seemed lenient''

In March 2025, the company executive was charged with violating local ordinances and forestry laws in a separate earth-filling incident, and was sentenced to two years and eight months in prison (finalized) at Utsunomiya District Court.

What has become clear from the testimony at this trial is that the soil is moving northward.

There are no dumping sites for earth and sand in the metropolitan area...