The Massive Fire in Mongolia—Let Mongolian Law Judge the Japanese Company's Misconduct

I saw a news report about a massive fire in Mongolia that broke out in a protected natural area after people associated with Mobicom, a consolidated subsidiary of the Japanese telecommunications giant KDDI, entered it.

According to reports, approximately 530,000 hectares burned—an extraordinary area about 2.4 times the size of Tokyo. It took eight days to extinguish the fire, and valuable natural habitat was lost.

The reported explanation is that the exhaust system of the vehicle they were using became extremely hot and ignited the grass, but the true cause has not yet been established.

The stated purpose of the visit was a field survey for telecommunications infrastructure, but suspicions have even emerged that the real purpose may have been recreation, including fishing.

If that is true, it is beyond belief.

They would have used work as a pretext to enter a protected natural area, spent their time having fun, and ended up causing a massive fire.

People Who Forget Common Sense When They Go Abroad

This news reminded me of a previous visit to Matsumoto Castle.

Matsumoto Castle is a National Treasure and one of Japan’s most important historic buildings.

On its grounds, a group of foreign visitors casually smoked cigarettes and threw away still-burning cigarette butts.

The sight made me furious.

I wondered how anyone could behave so thoughtlessly on the grounds of a National Treasure that Japanese people had carefully preserved.

When I learned about the fire in Mongolia, I remembered that anger.

The positions were simply reversed. Was the nature of the behavior not the same?

People entered a place that another country’s citizens had carefully protected and did whatever suited them.

At Matsumoto Castle, it was the disposal of cigarette butts. In Mongolia, a vast natural area burned.

The scale of the damage is incomparable, but both cases share the same lack of respect for another country’s culture or natural environment.

It is even more disgraceful that those involved this time were reportedly executives associated with a Japanese company.

Let Mongolian Law Judge Them

I see no need for anyone in Japan to offer strange excuses in defense of this incident.

If they violated local law, they should be judged under Mongolian law.

If they are found criminally responsible, they should accept the punishment. If they are liable for damages, they should pay the full amount.

That is all there is to it.

Under no circumstances should those involved simply leave Mongolia on their own, nor should the Japanese side shield them by invoking human rights.

And I hope KDDI will not try to escape by pushing all responsibility onto the local company merely because the misconduct occurred at a consolidated subsidiary.

An investigation will determine the extent of its legal responsibility, but as the parent company, KDDI should directly confront the restoration work and the response to the damage.

Holding a press conference to apologize will not restore the nature that burned.

If the convenient Japanese phrase “We take this very seriously” could regenerate 530,000 hectares of nature, there would be no problem.

For now, those involved should simply be left to the judgment of Mongolian law.

And I hope KDDI will not suddenly start saying, “This is a matter for the local subsidiary,” the moment compensation is discussed.

Having been angry at the foreign visitors who discarded cigarette butts at Matsumoto Castle, I would be a hypocrite if I did not judge the people associated with a Japanese company that burned Mongolia’s natural environment by the same standard.