Our Planet Climate and Geopolitics
A week ago a two-tonne truck and its 74-year-old driver were swallowed by a sinkhole near Tokyo.
The sinkhole has since become unstable, forcing rescue workers to build a 30-metre slope to try and retrieve the man who is still inside.
Authorities in Yashio believe the hole, which is now the size of an Olympic swimming pool, was formed by a corroded sewage pipe leaking water and loosening the soil below ground.
Local residents have been asked to limit their water use to relieve pressure on other pipes below the surface.
The saga is a reminder of Japan’s fragile, subterranean infrastructure.
Damaged pipes caused 2,600 sinkholes in the country in 2022, with age being a contributing factor.
Sewage pipes in Japan were initially built to last half a century, but seven per cent have now passed that age.
