The construction push came from an unexpected coalition within the company itself; however, preparations for the start of construction on the Hayameura Dam reportedly proceeded with high priority. Although everyone on the Kochi Prefecture side understood that the project would entail the sacrifice of land being submerged, they could not ignore the passionate pleas from Kagawa Prefecture—where life would become impossible without the dam due to water shortages—and Tokushima Prefecture, where flood control had become an intractable problem due to flooding downstream. In Kagawa Prefecture in particular, not only did Masayoshi Ohira, a prominent politician from Nishi-San (western Kagawa)—an area particularly vulnerable to water shortages—and then-Minister of Foreign Affairs (later Prime Minister), support the project, but even the leader of the opposition party—Tomomi Narita, Chairman of the Japanese Socialist Party ( also elected from Kagawa Prefecture) did not strongly oppose the construction. Not only that, but they later joined forces to submit a joint petition to the government demanding, “Even while the dam is under construction, release water to Kagawa Prefecture immediately!” Historically, since the project was effectively pushed forward through a “ruling-opposition coalition” and a “LDP-SPS coalition”—which would materialize some twenty-odd years later—it was impossible to halt the plan. In fact, in 1974, the year before the dam’s completion, water began flowing from the Yoshino River, and Kagawa Prefecture was spared the fear of water shortages. In exchange, most of Okawa Village—including the central Funato district—was submerged by the reservoir. Even after the village was flooded and residents relocated to higher ground, the population continued to decline; the population, which had numbered 4,000 in the Showa 30s, plummeted to just over 300, partly due to the closure of the copper mine. The reinforced concrete village hall—built almost as a defiant gesture—was submerged just over 10 years after its construction and remains beneath the water’s surface, largely untouched by weathering. This year (September 2026), for the first time in over a decade, the first-floor entrance and floor have become visible… and media outlets from both within and outside the prefecture are reportedly flocking to Okawa Village to photograph the village hall, which now resembles a ruined temple.
© Source travel watch