Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries Minister Masatoshi Wakabayashi suggested June 29 the government will appeal a district court order that the floodgates at the Isahaya Bay dike in Nagasaki Prefecture be opened for five years.

"We may appeal after clarifying which parts of the ruling we cannot accept," he said.

The final decision whether to appeal will be made only after the government concludes that it can present a solid case to rebut the court decision, Wakabayashi said, and the process will take at least several more days.

On June 27, the Saga District Court ruled in favor of 2,500 fishermen who claim the project to fill the bay has damaged the environment in the area and their fishery businesses.