Yoshino River
Yoshino River | |
---|---|
Native name | |
Location | |
Country | Japan |
Prefectures | Kōchi, Tokushima |
Physical characteristics | |
Source | Mount Kamegamori |
• location | Kōchi |
Mouth | Kii Channel |
• location | Tokushima |
• coordinates | 34°04′43″N 134°36′03″E / 34.078499°N 134.600722°E |
• elevation | 0m |
Length | 194 km (121 mi) |
The Yoshino River (
Etymology[edit]
It is regarded as one of the three greatest rivers of Japan along with the Tone and the Chikugo, and is nicknamed Shikoku Saburō (
Description[edit]
The Yoshino rises from Mount Kamegamori (
The river has some "submerged bridges" (
Controversies[edit]
The river was the subject of controversy in January 2000 when around half of eligible local residents showed up to the polls and overwhelmingly voted against a proposed dam construction across the river, with 102,759 (90.14%) registering a "no" vote and only 9,367 (8.22%) giving a "yes" vote (1.64% of votes were deemed invalid). This was considered unusual in a country where pork barrel public works projects were common and often welcomed by locals in provincial areas. Ironically, one author has argued that because of earlier local reforms which required a 50% turnout rate for referendums to pass through, pro-dam lobbyists likely urged "yes" supporters to not turn out to vote in the hopes that the total turnout would be less than 50% and thus invalidate the inevitable "no" vote. The entire episode led to a heated struggle between opposed locals and pro-dam lobbyists over the project.[1] Reconstruction of the Yoshino Daiju Dam (
References[edit]
- ^ Jain, Purnendra (2000). "Jumin tohyo and the Tokushima Anti-Dam Movement in Japan: The People Have Spoken". Asian Survey. 40 (4): 551–570. doi:10.2307/3021182. ISSN 0004-4687.
External links[edit]
- Media related to Yoshino River at Wikimedia Commons