Minamata

By the time the dust surrounding the Minamata disease began to slowly settle, 528 out of 3,000 “certified” victims had survived and more than 20,000 others fought for compensation. The population shrunk by more than 20,000 people, and current residents remain hesitant and cautious in using their bay as a water source. 

The disease came into light when thousands of Minamata residents began to experience symptoms of mercury poisoning. Dissolved mercury in freshwater and seawater becomes methylmercury, a highly toxic compound that can cause detrimental effects to anyone who consumes it, whether they drink the water directly or eat fish that inhabit it. When methylmercury enters the human body, the substance creates disulfides that cause the intricate structure of proteins and enzymes to become nonspecific, thus poisoning the body (U.S. National Liberty of Medicine). A nearby local factory, Chisso Corporation, was exposed to have been handling mercury in manufacturing plastic.The issue here is that the factory proceeded to dispose of their mercury waste into bodies of water that residents used as a water source. According to New York Times’s biotechnology reporter Andrew Pollack’s 1997 article, consuming the polluted substance made residents subject to numerous health disorders that included, but was not limited to central nervous system damage, numbing of hands and feet, losing mobility, loss of speech, hearing, vision, as well as tremors and convulsions. Fisherman families who were constantly surrounded by water were affected the most out of all the reported victims. Instead of acknowledging their malpractices and working to compensate victims, Chisso Corporation simply relocated its dumping site, which resulted in spreading the substance over a wider area. 

Rather than viewing their survival as a blessing, citizens who were affected envied the dead and believed a swift death was better than enduring the effects of the disease. Pollack interviewed victim Shinobu Sakamoto who stated, “ ‘As long as we are alive, Minamata disease will never end' “ (Pollack, 1997). Pregnant women who ate fish and other marine wildlife with mercury in their flesh gave birth to stillborn or deformed babies, among them was Sakamoto who was born with brain damage. Not only did being poisoned lead to health problems, but those affected were cast out from society. Victims were regarded no less than lepers as they were “shunned” by neighboring healthy families. Residents falsely believed the disease was highly contagious and kept their distance from the poisoned; they refused to come in direct contact with anything the victims touched, using buffers like chopsticks to pick up money left behind by those affected. 

The Japanese Government had yet to come forward and acknowledge the true reason behind the disease. They feared for their country’s economic future if they were to ask Chisso Corporation–the “foundation of the town’s economy”–to compensate for their negligence. In their attempts to turn a blind eye to the epidemic, the Government took action against any groups that discovered the cause behind the disease. It was not until 17 years after residents first began displaying symptoms that the court held Chisso Corporation responsible for its actions. Each victim was financially compensated with $60,000 to cover their medical and living expenses. However, this was only accounted for 2,262 victims, leaving more than 10,000 without their reparations, simply because their symptoms were deemed less severe than the other 2,200 victims. Many survivors refused to settle and demanded that the Japanese Government take responsibility for their carelessness. 

As of now, a cure for the Minamata disease has not been found. First-hand victims who developed disorders from consuming mercury poison are forced to rely on rehabilitation for the rest of their lives. However, for those who were exposed to the substance in the womb, their options are even more limited, as their symptoms are permanent, handicapping them for life. Wary and traumatized, residents remain apprehensive to return to utilizing Minamata Bay as a source even after almost 60 years. There are still thousands of victims who have not been recognized by the Government who seemed to have dismissed the situation in its entirety. Thus, these victims are left to die without receiving neither an apology nor reparations for an unexpected disease that had changed the rest of their lives. 
 

Sources
Methylmercury exposure and health effects
Hong, Kim, & Lee
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3514465/

The End of a Tragedy in Pictures
Pollack
https://www.nytimes.com/1997/08/03/weekinreview/the-end-of-a-tragedy-in-pictures.html
 

More than 60 years on, Japan's mercury-poison victims fight to be heard
Funakoshi & Kim
https://www.reuters.com/article/us-japan-minamata-victims/more-than-60-years-on-japans-mercury-poison-victims-fight-to-be-heard-idUSKCN1BV326