The Ashio Mining Pollution Incident was a big social problem. As the poisons from the Ashio copper mine flowed into the Watarase River, agricultural land was laid to waster: no crops grew in the fields. Some people could no longer live from hand to mouth, so they had to leave their homes, as was the case for the residents of the Yanaka Village, among others.
The person who tried to help the farmers was Mr.Shozo Tanaka. He was a member of the Diet. In the end, he quite his job,and he petitioned directly to the Emperor. He worked hard in order to stop the flow of poisons into the river his whole life.
At last, the national government issued "the Orders for Works to Prevent Mine Pollutions.". The national government ordered the Mine to build some establishments to prevent damage from mining pollutions. If these orders weren't completed within the limit, the government threatened to stop operations of the factories. People hurried to complete construction of those establishments nighe and day, and the mines were allowed to continue their operations.
