The most terrible strange disease of Japanese history due to the release of mercury into the sea

In 1932 the Japanese Chisso Corporation discharged mercury-contaminated wastewater to Minamata Sea caused a massive death of fish and shrimp, people ate fish that had been poisoned causing seizures, paralysis, pain to death or the generation of deformities.

According to ENV, the official website of the Japanese Ministry of Environment, Minamata is a province in Kyushu island. After the catastrophic event in 1932, Minamata became the name of a disease caused by mercury poisoning from the chemical waste that an industrial park discharged directly into the sea. Referring to this disease, many generations of native cherry blossoms are haunted and consider it the most catastrophic environmental disaster in history. Many lawsuits that lasted from 1959 until now have not come to an end.

In 1908, the Chisso Group began to open a factory in Minamata, installing a sewage system that directly discharged into the bay and the sea around the village of about 10,000 inhabitants. At first this unit was granted a certificate from the government to allow the "natural" discharge system . After a period of operation, it caused heavy environmental pollution, seriously affecting fishing operations so much that the Minamata Fisheries Cooperative has twice asked Chisso to pay compensation. Soon after a series of people around the area discovered mercury poisoning. Dead fish shrimp drifted ashore.

One of Minamata's victims struggled to claim compensation.(Photo: ENV).

In 1926, Chisso agreed to support the Minamata cooperative of 1,500 Yen (about 704 USD) at the current exchange rate."Sympathy money" is a way to call this group to avoid having to accept responsibility for damage to the environment which will be severely dealt with by the law of the host country. In order to prevent the risk of compensation, the compensation party also added to the contract a provision that the cooperative committed to "never sue again".

Applying "just punching and rubbing" techniques, Chisso Corporation on the one hand denies responsibility, on the other hand negotiates while continuously discharging into the sea for a long time. In 1956, local residents began to know strange disease syndrome in Minamata. Thousands of people who eat fish contaminated with mercury after a while have been speechless, have difficulty walking, convulsions, even madness, paralysis, coma and death after only a few weeks.

In order to control strange diseases, the Kumamoto provincial government banned the sale of seafood caught from Minamata Bay but did not prohibit fishing. Fishermen still catch fish but cannot sell, life is more difficult, they have to live with the same amount of seafood collected.

On the International Labor Day May 1, 1956, for the first time, someone set a premise on the disease. It was Dr. Hajime Hosokawa who reported a "strange epidemic related to the central nervous system" after noting 4 patients with unexplained neurological disorders. Shortly after, 54 other cases were discovered, 17 died.

The disease does not rule out any animal, even the cat that eats fish dies after a while also twitches and dies. The disease in humans appears uncontrolled tremor symptoms, limb numbness, decreased vision, convulsions and pain to death.

At that time, there was a fierce debate about the cause of the disease. Some doctors believe this is a disease affecting the central nervous system, while others say it is hereditary."The most frightening thing is what has not been deciphered," so Japanese society is so prejudiced against infected people and their families that they are denied recruitment, prohibit marriage and discrimination.

In 1959, Kumamoto University professors made an official announcement that the disease in the Minamata region was a neuropathy , caused by eating fish and hard-shelled creatures from Minamata Bay. "Mercury is our concern. It could be the cause of water pollution and poisoning of hard-shelled fish and organisms , " the team wrote.

According to Japan Times, autopsy results show that the type of mercury in a patient's body dies similarly to that of Chisso chemical plant's industrial waste. Although the representative of the corporation denied this, many experiments conducted on cats provided additional evidence to confirm the suspicion was valid.

Minamata malformed children.(Photo: ENV).

According to Japan Today, about 3,000 people are officially recognized as Minamata disease. However, many cases are still outside the list of relief due to inadequate eligibility for infection.

It was not until 1968 that the Japanese government officially recognized organic mercury (methyl mercury) in Chisso's industrial waste that caused the disease. At the same time, the company continued to discharge polluted wastewater into the sea, poisoning fish, making local people sick after eating fish. The disease is spreading in the area.

The disease is not limited to Minamata and the surrounding area. In 1965, many people expressed similar Minamata disease was discovered in the basin of Agano river in Niigata province. Later there was a "second Minamata disease event " called Niigata Minamata disease which was determined by organic mercury from the Showa Denko KK factory wastewater.

In 1977, the Japanese government adopted more stringent standards for the certification of Minamata victims. Accordingly, people with specific manifestations such as limb sensory disorders, vision impairment or motor disabilities were recognized as Minamata patients. To date, there are still 33,450 people on the waiting list.

The Chisso Group also agreed with Minamata City's ruling. The first compensation agreement between Chisso and fishermen was carried out. However, environmental disasters and litigation related to Minamata have not stopped until today.