On July 3 8,400 Sumatran residents in Tokyo began proceedings to seek compensation for the adverse consequences of the Koto Panjang Dam project. The hydroelectric dam forced 23,000 people from their homes in 1993, moving them to barren wastelands, and making self-subsistence and the maintenance of cultural traditions impossible. The plaintiffs are targeting the Japanese government, the Japan International Cooperation Agency, the Japan Bank for International Cooperation, and Tokyo Electric Power Services Co. The Japanese government denies all responsibility, claiming that it was the Indonesian government
