is a town

Towns of Japan

A town is a local administrative unit in Japan. It is a local public body along with prefecture , city , and village...

 in Shōzu District

Shozu District, Kagawa

is a district located in Kagawa, Japan.As of 2003, the district has an estimated population of 34,714 and a density of 204.20 persons per km². The total area is 170.00 km², most of which is on the island of Shōdoshima.-Mergers:...

, Kagawa

Kagawa Prefecture

is a prefecture of Japan located on Shikoku island. The capital is Takamatsu.- History :Kagawa was formerly known as Sanuki Province.For a brief period between August 1876 and December 1888, Kagawa was made a part of Ehime Prefecture.-Battle of Yashima:...

, Japan

Japan

Japan is an island nation in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south...

. It is located on the island of Shōdoshima

Shodoshima

is an island located in the Inland Sea of Japan. The name means literally "Island of Small Beans". There are two towns on the island: Tonoshō and Shōdoshima, comprising the district of Shōzu.The island is famous for its stages of Twenty-Four Eyes...

 in the Inland Sea. Small islands on the Inland Sea, including Teshima, belong to its administrative area. As of 2008, the town has an estimated population

Population

A population is all the organisms that both belong to the same group or species and live in the same geographical area. The area that is used to define a sexual population is such that inter-breeding is possible between any pair within the area and more probable than cross-breeding with individuals...

 of 15,676 and a density

Population density

Population density is a measurement of population per unit area or unit volume. It is frequently applied to living organisms, and particularly to humans...

 of 211 persons per km². The total area is 74.38 km².

The island of Teshima had been used as a place to dump industrial waste

Industrial waste

Industrial waste is a type of waste produced by industrial activity, such as that of factories, mills and mines. It has existed since the outset of the industrial revolution....

, ignoring legal restrictions, since the early 1980s. The waste

Waste

Waste is unwanted or useless materials. In biology, waste is any of the many unwanted substances or toxins that are expelled from living organisms, metabolic waste; such as urea, sweat or feces. Litter is waste which has been disposed of improperly...

caused pollution and residents complained that it was public nuisance to the prefectural government, but the prefectural governor at that time ignored it. As a result of a prolonged activity, the mediation between the prefecture and residents was settled in 2000.