The Indonesian National Police announced that it is investigating 97 companies on suspicion of causing forest fires, including 1 Japanese-affiliated company. Approximately 556 hectares is said to have burned this year at business sites subject to the investigation.
The Indonesian National Police are investigating 97 companies over forest fires and announced that 1 of them is Japanese-affiliated. As plantation development involving slash-and-burn practices continues, efforts to hold companies responsible are gaining momentum. A local environmental group claims that approximately 556 hectares burned this year at the business sites of Japanese-affiliated companies.
The investigation is said to have established suspicion against 20 of the 97 companies, although the Japanese-affiliated company is reportedly not among them despite being under investigation. The remaining nearly 24 companies are foreign-affiliated, including local companies backed by capital from Singapore, Malaysia, the United Kingdom, China and South Korea, in addition to Japan.
The Indonesian government estimates that an area roughly equivalent to the four prefectures of Shikoku burned between January and September this year. Attention remains focused on the progress of the investigation and where responsibility lies among the companies involved.