Overview
- Hokkaido decided to require Japan Ecology to promptly file results of its soil contamination survey for the planned large-scale solar site near Kushiro Wetland.
- The prefecture is arranging to call company executives to the government office to formally convey the demand.
- Work remains under a prefectural instruction to stay suspended until investigations, including the soil survey, are completed.
- The Agency for Cultural Affairs plans to send staff to inspect the site and check potential impacts on species such as the red‑crowned crane.
- The Environment Ministry has begun discussing legal changes that would add penalties to better protect rare species, following concerns raised by the project; earlier reports also noted about 20% of project rights were sold to a Singapore-linked investor.