TEN THINGS TO KNOW ABOUT MINAMATA DISEASE

Studying and understanding Minamata disease makes one aware of the importanceof the environment and nature.
In order not to repeat a tragic incident such as Minamata disease, we collectedcommon questions about Minamata disease.
It would be our great pleasure if this booklet helps you understand about Minamata
disease.

1.WHAT KIND OF DISEASE IS MINAMATA DISEASE?

accumulation of methyl mercury
Minamata disease was caused by eating large quantities of fish and shellfish pollutedby methyl mercury discharged into Minamata Bay. Minamata disease is not acontagious or genetically transmitted disease. It was officially discovered in Minamata,Kumamoto prefecture in 1956, and in 1968 the national government announced that thispollution-related disease was caused by Chisso Co., Ltd..
The methyl mercury that enters the body mainly attacks the central nervous system.
The symptoms include numbness and unsteadiness in the legs and hands, tiredness,ringing in the ears, narrowing of the field of vision, loss of hearing, slurred speech, andawkward movements. Some early severe victims of Minamata disease went insane,
became unconscious, and died within a month of the onset of the disease.
There are also victims with chronic Minamata disease symptoms, such as headaches,frequent tiredness, loss of the senses of smell and taste, and forgetfulness, which are noteasily visible but make daily life difficult. Moreover, there are congenital Minamata
disease patients, who were born with handicaps after being attacked by methyl mercury
while in the wombs of their mothers who consumed polluted fish. No cure for Minamata
disease has yet been discovered, so treatment consists of attempts to lessen thesymptoms and physical rehabilitation therapy.
In addition to the physical damage,there is also social harm, such as discrimination in relation to Minamata disease.

2.WHAT KIND OF SUBSTANCE IS ORGANIC MERCURY?

The Great Buddha in Nara
Humans have had a long history with mercury, and it is well known, for instance, that
mercury was used in the gold plating of the Great Buddha in Nara and in the Edo period
in medicine and facial powder. In Japan, the places named Niu indicate the areas wheremercury was produced and used.
Mercury is classified into inorganic mercury and organic mercury. Metallic mercury,which is recognized as inorganic mercury, is used in the production of familiar items suchas fluorescent lights, batteries, and thermometers.
Methyl mercury which caused Minamata disease is a type of organic mercury. It is awhite powdery substance and its smell is like sulfur in a hot spring. It is easily absorbed
by gastric and intestinal organs, and carried by the blood into the brain as well as theliver, the kidney, and even into the fetus. Methyl mercury is highly poisonous andcauses great damage.

3.HOW MANY MINAMATA DISEASE VICTIMSARE THERE?

Minamata Disease Victims’ Memorial Service
As of April 30, 1997, the number of people in Kumamoto and Kagoshima prefectures
who had applied for certification as Minamata disease victims numbered more than
17,000. Of these 2,265 ( of which 1,484 have passed away by January 31, 2003 )werecertified by the government. Moreover, there are 11,540 persons set as the object of theMinamata disease synthesis measure medical enterprise which carried out the lastdecision in 1997 also including the person who had already died. Therefore, the victim
permitted the influence of mercury by administration for the moment can call it 13,805
persons. However, there are some people who died before the official discovery of
Minamata disease, and others who died after the discovery without submitting anapplication form for official recognition and / or for medical assistance. Furthermore,some people did not apply for compensation for other various reasons, so it is impossible
to know the exact number of victims.
The disease did not occur only in the Minamata area. In 1965 Minamata diseasebroke out along the Agano River in Niigata prefecture, caused by mercury discharged bythe Showa Denko corporation. Ill-health or damage to one’s health as a result ofmercury poisoning caused by factories was also reported in China and Canada. In recentyears rivers and lakes in the Amazon and Tanzania polluted by mercury have createdserious health concerns.

4.WHAT KIND OF COMPANY WAS CHISSO?

The former Chisso factory constructed in the Meiji period
Chisso began as a hydroelectric power company in the late Meiji period. (1908) It built
a carbide factory in Minamata, using the electricity, and before long began producing
chemical fertilizers, becoming one of Japan’s major chemical companies.
As Chisso grew so did Minamata. Its population increased, and Minamata became oneof the leading industrial cities in Kumamoto prefecture. A former factory director once
served as mayor, and Chisso’s influence on the region and the residents’ dependence on
Chisso grew.
In addition to chemical fertilizers, Chisso produced acetic acid, vinyl chloride and theplasticizers that were necessary in their production. Chisso became one of the companies
that made possible postwar Japan’s rapid economic growth.
Since the Taisho period (1912-1926), pollution of the ocean by the wastewater from theChisso factory had occasionally become a problem. However, from 1932 to 1968 thecompany continued to use inorganic mercury as a catalyst when producing acetaldehyde.
It was used to make acetic acid and the plasticizers, and in the course of production
methyl mercury as a by-product was discharged into the sea until 1966 virtually without
treatment.
Even after Chisso knew the factory wastewater was the cause of Minamata disease, it
did not suspend its operations. In the judgement in the first Minamata disease trial,
this type of negligent corporate morality was severely criticized.

5.WHAT IS THE CURRENT SITUATION OF CHISSO?

Some of Chisso’s products
Chisso Co., Ltd. has its headquarter in Tokyo and two other factories in Chiba andOkayama prefectures in addition to the Minamata factory.

The main products of theChisso Minamata factory are liquid crystal, preservatives, anti-desiccation agents,
chemical fertilizers, synthetic resin and so on. The Minamata factory employs more than554 people as of October 2002, and it is still an important company in Minamata.
Chisso has undertaken the big obligation to pay reparations as a cause company of
Minamata disease.

Since a possibility that management might get worse in 1975 andafterwards, and payment of compensation etc. might become impossible to Chisso cameout, Kumamoto-prefecture has offered financial support to Chisso through prefecturalloan issue from 1978 to 2000. (Total loan amount of about 260 billion yen) However,since it became difficult for Chisso to pay the borrowed money, the Japanese government
will pay it instead of Chisso from February, 2000 every year waiting and in the meantime
until Chisso can pay some borrowed money.
There is responsibility which continues the medical treatment to a patient andcompensation of a life in Chisso.

Moreover, influencing to society is also called for sothat the same fault may never occur as a cause company of Minamata disease.

6.WHAT HAS HAPPENED TO MINAMATA BAY?

Minamata Bay Reclaimed Land (Eco Park Minamata)The sludge in Minamata Bay, of which the concentration of mercury was beyond 25ppm, was dealt with partly by land reclamation and partly by dredging at a cost ofapproximately 48.5 billion yen over 14 years. The cost was covered by Kumamoto
Prefecture. As a result, a portion of Minamata Bay has been transformed into 58
hectares of reclaimed land. The quality of water in Minamata Bay is one of the best inKumamoto Prefecture in terms of transparency and cleanliness, so one does not need toworry about swimming or playing there. In order to prevent the spread of polluted fishand reassure the residents of the prefecture, the prefecture put dividing nets at theentrance to Minamata Bay in 1974, and enlisted the cooperation of the fishingcooperative to catch fish in the bay. Chisso had been buying the fish that had beencaught and had been disposing them.
The concentration of mercury in fish and shellfish in Minamata bay has continued todecrease since Chisso stopped its production of acetaldehyde. It was confirmed that
there were no species of fish that contained more mercury than the provisional nationalstandards ( 0.4 ppm total mercury, 0.3 ppm methyl mercury) according to aninvestigation conducted by Kumamoto Government in October, 1994. Therefore, theGovernor of Kumamoto declared Minamata bay is safe in July, 1997, and the dividing
nets were removed in October. Now it can be said that the fish and shellfish in
Minamata bay are as safe as those of outside the bay.
Even though the dividing nets had been removed, investigations into the concentrationof mercury in fish and shellfish continued to be conducted twice a year for the next threeyears. Comprehensive data on the sea of Minamata which has experienced suchlarge-scale environmental destruction and the health of the local residents are to bepassed on to the rest of the world so the most can be made of the lessons of Minamata
disease. In order to do so, long-term observation is needed.

7.WHAT COMPENSATION DO THE PATIENTS RECEIVE?

The signing of an agreement between the patients’ associations and Chisso in 1996
Patients and Chisso concluded a compensation agreement in July 1973, based on theMarch 1973 court decision of the Minamata disease trial and the direct negotiations thattook place afterwards. Under this agreement, one time consolation payments of between
16 million and 18 million yen were paid to certified patients.

In addition, annuities,

medical expenses, nursing costs, funeral expenses, hot spring treatment expenses, andthe cost of acupuncture and moxibustion treatments are paid.

Also, Chisso uses theinterest from a reserve fund to pay diaper expenses, home help costs, condolence gifts,
massage treatment expenses, and transportation costs to and from hospitals.
Moreover, for those who have not applied for certification but meet certain
requirements such as experiencing loss of sensation in all four extremities and having
eaten large amounts of fish and shellfish, Kumamoto and Kagoshima prefectures pay themedical expenses not covered by health insurance, and expenses for other medical
treatment (17,200 to 23,500 yen per month as of November, 2000) through its
Comprehensive Minamata Disease Treatment Project.
Based on the Final Settlement proposed by the National Government, those, whether
they are alive or not, who meet certain requirements for having been affected by methyl
mercury (except for certified Minamata disease victims) agreed with Chisso that theywould not ask for further compensation in 1996, and received compensation payments of
2.6 million yen.

8.WHAT HAVE THE PATIENTS BEEN REQUESTING?

Mr. Hamamoto, talking about Mianamta disease as a narrator
More than 40 years have passed since Minamata disease broke out. For the Minamata
disease patients, the 40 years has seen the continuation of hardship and strife. What thepatients requested through the trials and negotiations against the administrations andChisso was a heartfelt and sincere apology for having caused Minamata disease and nothaving helped the patients. Also, the patients have been requesting that the victims’conditions be acknowledged and quick relief be provided. What they most strongly
appealed for during this period, one of isolation from the local society, was that they betreated as human beings and citizens of Minamata.
There is no complete cure for Minamata disease. Most patients go to hospitals every
day for symptomatic treatment and rehabilitation. As the patients become older, thenumber of people who are hospitalized or receive home medical assistance increases. In
this rapid aging society, the patients’ wish that they be able to live in the community
without any worries is also a common concern in Minamata.
Needless to say, those who can move their body do what they can manage. Althoughfarming and fishing are considered heavy labor, they can help with rehabilitation. Somepatients work for companies. The patients have learnt to live with their symptoms.
However, prejudice and misunderstanding related to Minamata disease still remains As
such there are cases in which some patients hesitate to reveal that they are a Minamata
disease victim even to their family or relatives.
Others devote themselves to activities
such as talks about their experiences and the lessons for future generations, hoping that
Minamata disease will never be repeated
Not forgetting those who were sacrificed to Minamata disease as the desire formaterialistic prosperity and a result of natural destruction, what can we do next? What
the patients would ask us to do is to continue to think about what we can do from nowon.

9.WHAT IS MOYAI NAOSHI?

Moyai boats‘Moyai’ literally means to bind boats together or to do something together. We namecooperative community projects ‘Moyai Naoshi’, which stress tackling the Minamata
disease issue, and facing, understanding, and working together here in Minamata where
the relationships among people and between people and nature were once destroyed.
Around the time of the outbreak of Minamata disease, the Minamata disease patients
had problems mixing with neighbors, because people thought the disease was contagious.
Even after the mercury in the wastewater discharged from Chisso was determined as
the cause of the disease, the victims were ignored by those who were dependant on
Chisso. The trial and compensation payments were considered a threat to the existenceof Chisso.
In addition, the victims experienced discrimination and malicious slander in relation to
the compensation payments. Among those who applied for certification, it was said thatsome were faking disease symptoms. Since the disease was caused by Chisso, on which
Minamata was financially dependent, strikes broke out followed by hostility among theresidents. Relations between people supporting different standpoints have been severed
for a long time.
However, having overcome these misunderstandings and realizing that hostility
accomplishes nothing, the administration, the citizens, and the victims of Minamata
disease are taking actions together for the reconstruction of Minamata through talks andactivities.

10.WHAT CAN WE LEARN FROM MINAMATA DISEASE?

the classification of trash and refuse by the residents into 2 １ groups
Minamata disease was caused by eating contaminated fish and shellfish, which werepolluted by industrial waste discharged by Chisso. At the same time, hostility amongpeople broke out.
The citizens of Minamata have learned that water and food are essential to life, andtherefore invaluable, and that household and industrial waste should not be allowed todestroy the environment.
Mass production, mass consumption, and mass waste make our lives more convenientand prosperous. Yet, our environment and health are suffering, surrounded by exhaust
fumes, agricultural chemicals, food preservatives, and various toxic substances. We can
not think about our rich materialistic lives without referring to the relationships we havewith other countries.

Minamata disease tells us that human beings can be theperpetrators as well as the victims.
Minamata disease also tell us: to coexist with nature, based on the idea that we areliving thanks to nature; to think about the relations among people, rivers, and the sea; tothink about food which is safe; to decrease home and industrial waste and to grapple
with recycling; and to tackle global problems.

Siranui Sea Map

TEN THINGS TO KNOW ABOUT MINAMATA DISEASE
Written by: Minamata Disease Municipal Museum
Tel 0966-62-2621
Minamata Disease Museum
Tel 0966-63-5800
In cooperation with: Tatsuo Yamamoto(photos)
Hiroyuki Hizen
The National Institute for Minamata Disease
Published by: The Minamata Environmental Creation DevelopmentProjectSteering Committee