The Democratic Party of Japans election manifesto calls for a complete review of large public works projects that fail to respond to the needs of the day,specifically calling for a halt to construction of Kawabe Dam in Kumamoto Prefecture and Yanba Dam in Nagano Prefecture.With respect to river policy,there are three difficulties: the dilution of direct relationships between people’s livelihood and rivers,the transference of property management from local communities to a national ministry (the Ministry of Land,Infrastructure,Transport and Tourism or MLIT),and the dissolution of the connections among local communities through rivers.Thus it is,in fact,a key to the improvement of river management to encourage local residents to direct their attention to their nearby rivers.Since 1964 the construction project of the Kawabe River Dam has been one of the environmental problems in the Kuma River Basin.These two photographs show the planned construction site for the dam and its rendering.Governor of Kumamoto Prefecture referred to six criteria on which to base his decision over the dam project: discussion sessions with experts,investigation on the site,public hearings,the opinions of the MLIT,voices from pertinent local municipalities,and discussions in the prefectural assembly.Governor stated that he would make a judgment based on these criteria.According to his statement,the attitudes of pertinent local municipalities was the most important criterion in his decision; Sagara Village and Hitoyoshi City,which would benefit from the dam,are cons,while neighboring Nishiki Town,Yamae Village and Asagiri Town remain neutral.Of course,the local opinions have an impact on these attitudes.Finally,Governor decided to suspend the dam project.He stated,“The current plan should be totally retracted and a flood control measure which is not dependent on a dam should be pursued.The Kuma River is a treasure for residents along it.I think they are currently leaning toward the protection the River.” This was the most decisive statement that none of his predecessors had ever made.Now let us take a closer look at how the environmental movement developed in this area.I illustrate the development of the environmental movement against the Kawabe River Dam.There are three kinds of movements against the Kawabe dam project: protest movements in Itsuki Village (1960-1980),Hitoyoshi City (1992-),and Kumamoto City (1996~).In particular,the paper examines how the citizen group Kumagawa suikei nettowaku (The Kuma River Basin Network) has developed by showing their actual activities.The paper concludes that their approaches foster a sense of place through physical experiences using the five senses and promotes the reevaluation of the river more effectively.And fun and activities can involve new participants who would not otherwise join the movement: namely children,students,tourists,and residents who tend to stay away from political movements.