The land-subsidence areas in Japan are in and around big cities, industrial zones, and paddy-field zones on the coastal lowlands where groundwater has been utilized extensively and excessively. In view of the enormous sums of money spent for various counter-measures in the land-subsidence areas, groundwater hardly can be said to be a cheap resource.

From the viewpoint of an unsuccessful example of groundwater-resource development, the characteristics and the future problems of land-subsidence in Japan are summarized briefly.

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