Part 6

Author: Teruaki Sueoka

10. Hirose and Iba Disagree about Relocation of the Smelter

広瀬宰平の四阪島移転反対具陳書 — Saihei Hirose’s statement of his objections concerning relocation of the smelter to Shisakajima

Saihei Hirose heard in December 1895 (28th year of the Meiji era) about Sumitomo’s submission of an application for permission to relocate the smelter. Although Hirose had already retired and the matter was not his responsibility, he thought it was incumbent on him to express his opinion once it came to his knowledge. After all, Hirose’s motto was “Disobey your master’s order and benefit him. That is loyalty.” So he thought it would be harmful if he kept silent. This episode has a lesson for contemporary society, too. Several companies have become embroiled in crises because people opted for a quiet life rather than speaking out. Problems can be nipped in the bud if people have the courage of their convictions and express their concerns early. Failure to do so can jeopardize the very existence of an enterprise. Based on his conviction, Hirose wrote to the head of the Sumitomo family, stating his objections concerning relocation of the smelter to Shisakajima.

Hirose’s letter was well reasoned and to the point. Firstly, he explained why he had encouraged community development in Niihama. He wrote: “A company should coexist with local residents and the community. If the smelter were relocated to Shisakajima, what would be the fate of Niihama? The community would decline because of the lack of industry. Allowing that to happen would be contrary to fundamental humanitarian principles.” Secondly, he likened the contemplated relocation to a gamble: “Relocation of the smelter will involve a great deal of engineering work on the island to prepare the site as well as construction of the plant, houses, and facilities. Water will have to be shipped in every day. Relocation of the smelter will be extremely costly. If it were my decision, I would use the money to pay compensation.” He also writes: “The current problem is a problem concerning farmers. Sumitomo should explain the circumstances to the farmers and either buy their land or pay compensation. Constructing a smelter on the island and conducting smelting there may lead to conflict with fishermen. If so, Sumitomo would make enemies of not only of the farmers but also the fishermen. What would Sumitomo do to compensate the fishermen?”

Hirose also wrote: “Sulfur dioxide is not the only cause of pollution.” At that time, Sumitomo needed to develop Tonaru, which would involve excavating a tunnel from Tonaru to facilitate exploitation of copper deposits. In order to establish a transportation route for ore from the Besshi Copper Mines via Adit No. 3, an aerial cableway, a rail link to the port and shipping to the island, development of Tonaru would be necessary. Hirose pointed out: “Once Adit No. 3 is completed, water contaminated with minerals would flow into the Kokuryo River. Water contamination is also a major problem.” He raised other issues: “I have heard that Sumitomo plans to construct a wooden conduit for contaminated water, but wooden construction is prone to damage in the event of torrential rain. It is a bad idea to rely on facilities that are not robust.”

Teigo Ibaの四阪島移転上申書 — Teigo Iba’s proposal for relocation of the smelter to Shisakajima

Having received this letter from Hirose, Kichizaemon (Tomoito) Sumitomo was nonplussed and consulted Teigo Iba, who on reading Hirose’s letter offered this opinion to Tomoito: “If we just state our objections to the points Hirose makes, he will think we just want to relocate the smelter on a whim, without a well thought out plan. I do not want Hirose to get the idea that we are doing this without a proper strategy. The relocation of the smelter will be based on careful planning. I will present the estimates.” Iba prepared estimates with numerous supporting documents including a design drawing of the smelting furnace, a design drawing of the Tonaru project, and a plan of the transportation route, as well as a proposal to be submitted to Tomoito. He stated that it was no longer practicable to keep the smelter in Niihama and proposed two options: relocation of the smelter back to the mountain or to Shisakajima. Based on a comparison of copper production costs in the case of these two options, it was concluded that smelting on Shisakajima would be less costly.

山根収銅所（明治38年） — Yamane Facility in 1905 (38th year of the Meiji era)

Regarding the problem of water contamination, Iba accepted Hirose’s criticism of the plan to lay a wooden conduit. Instead, a 16-kilometer brick-lined drainage channel was built from Tonaru to Yamane where a new facility for treating contaminated water drained from the mines was constructed. The surviving Yamane Facility was built in 1905 (38th year of the Meiji era), 100 years ago. I think Hirose was right to have clearly expressed his reservations about the project. Objections make people delve deeper into the issues. I am not sure what board meetings are like these days but I do think earnest discussion is necessary.

煙害賠償契約書 — Agreement on smoke pollution damage compensation

Raising objections to some of the points made by Hirose, Iba commented that it would be inexcusable simply to pay compensation for damage without restoring the denuded mountains. Iba believed that payment of compensation would not be a definitive solution and that buying the famers’ land would be unethical. Iba also wrote: “As the machinery and procurement operations, indeed everything with the sole exception of smelting, will remain in Niihama, the city won’t be plunged into terminal decline. Only the people involved in smelting will move to the island. Having the smelter on Shisakajima will boost the shipping industry, too.” Regarding compensation for the fishery, Sumitomo concluded an agreement with Monshiro Murakami who was the head of the Ochi-Noma Fishery Association. Incidentally, Monshiro Murakami is the great grandfather of Seiichiro Murakami, a member of the House of Representatives. Influenced by Hirose’s forthright expression of his views, Iba took steps to avoid disputes with the fishermen.

Hirose’s statement of his objections and Iba’s proposal are included in the exhibition. These documents, which were retained by the heads of the Sumitomo family (Tomoito, the 15th head, and Tomonari, the 16th head), came to light this year, which is the twelfth anniversary of the death of the 16th head (an anniversary of particular significance in Japanese culture). This coincidence and also the discovery of these two documents during the centenary of the opening of Shisakajima Smelter seem somehow fateful, striking a powerful chord.

11. Agreement on Shisakajima Smoke Pollution Damage Compensation Anticipates the Kyoto Protocol

Following the submission of the proposal, the smelter was relocated to Shisakajima and started operation in 1905 (38th year of the Meiji era). However, contrary to the intention, smoke pollution spread throughout the Toyo region of Ehime Prefecture. Iba commented: “Business faces many problems. Although one tends to be preoccupied with what is happening right now, one should always have a vision of how the future will unfold.” I think the subtext to Iba’s comment goes like this: Although relocation of the smelter did not work out as intended, we should not only pay attention to the immediate problems but consider the vision behind the action we took and tenaciously pursue solutions until the vision is achieved.

In 1909 (42nd year of the Meiji era), Sumitomo concluded an agreement on compensation for damage, admitting responsibility for the smoke pollution. Although a damage compensation agreement would typically only state the amount of money to paid, this agreement included something of a very different order, namely, a clause limiting the annual amount of ore smelted to 55 million kan (approx. 206,000 tons). Generally speaking, in a market economy, decisions as to the scale and content of production are left to each company. But this agreement imposes a restriction on production, which was a blow to Sumitomo’s freedom of action. In addition, the agreement required Sumitomo to restrict the amount of ore smelted to 375 tons per day for 40 days in May and June when the wheat crop is pollinating and for 40 days in September and October when this is true of the rice crop, plus mandatory suspension of the entire smelting process for 10 days when the rice crop would be particularly vulnerable to pollution.

四阪島のペテルゼン式硫酸工場 — Petersen sulfuric acid plant in Shisakajima

When I read this agreement, it reminded me of the Kyoto Protocol, which came into effect this year. In accordance with the Kyoto Protocol, the industrialized countries are committed to reducing greenhouse gas emissions to meet their respective targets. Thus, restrictions are being imposed on industry so as to protect the global environment. Faced with such challenges, we need more than ever to deploy our collective wisdom. The smoke pollution damage compensation agreement points us in the right direction. What did Sumitomo do to extricate itself from these restrictions on production? It accomplished this by ceasing to emit sulfur dioxide gas. Sumitomo conducted research on how best to prevent the emission of sulfur dioxide gas. Paying compensation but spending more money on research, Sumitomo eventually come up with a device that neutralizes sulfur dioxide, which can then be used in the manufacture of fertilizer. This is to kill two birds with one stone since fertilizers are made from something that was harmful. The company established for this purpose eventually became present-day Sumitomo Chemical. In this way, science and technology can achieve tremendous benefits for humanity. The industrialized countries will at first deal with the contemporary issue of carbon dioxide emissions through emissions trading schemes but since such an approach will soon reach its limit, it will become necessary to develop carbon capture and storage technology. (To be continued)

Proceed to Part 7