Mercury: Minamata Bay Details
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Minamata

Over 3,000 victims have been recognized as having "Minamata Disease". It has taken some of these people over thirty years to receive compensation for this inconceivable event. In 1993, nearly forty years later, the Japanese courts were still resolving suitable compensation for the victims. Many people have lost their lives, suffered from physical deformities, or have had to live with the physical and emotional pain of "Minamata Disease". This suffering is all a result of the very wrongful and negligent acts of the Chisso Corporation who dumped mercury into the sea water and poisoned the people of Japan.

Minamata is a small factory town dominated by the Chisso Corporation. The town faces the Shiranui Sea, and Minamata Bay is part of this sea. In Japanese, "Chisso" means nitrogen. The Chisso Corporation was once a fertilizer and carbicle company, and gradually advanced to a petrochemical and plastic-maker company. From 1932 to 1968, Chisso Corporation, a company located in Kumamoto Japan, dumped an estimated 27 tons of mercury compounds into Minamata Bay. Kumamoto is a small town about 570 miles southwest of Tokyo. The town consists of mostly farmers and fisherman. When Chisso Corporation dumped this massive amount of mercury into the bay, thousands of people whose normal diet included fish from the bay, unexpectedly developed symptoms of methyl mercury poisoning. The illness became known as the "Minamata Disease". 

The mercury poisoning resulted from years of environmental abuse by Chisso Corporation going back to a period when most people were ignorant of environmental issues.. In 1907 the villagers of Minamata convinced the founder of Chisso Corporation to build a factory in their town, hoping to benefit from the wealth of industrialization. The owner, Jun Noguchi agreed to the development, but used the people from Minamata as simple factory workers The more elite positions, such as engineers and managers were "imported" as he termed it, from the finest universities, like Tokyo University. By 1925, the Chisso Corporation was dumping waste into Minamata Bay which had the side effect of destroying the fishing areas. The theory behind Noguchi's policy was to pay off the Minamata fisherman in exchange for damaging their fishing environment. According to Eugene Smith's interview of the people who lived in Minamata, the company believed that it was much cheaper to pay off the few people who were opposed to the dumping, rather than implement an environmentally safe technique of waste removal. Therefore, since the villagers accepted this practice through compensation of money, and the government was behind the industry, the entire process appeared ethical. Chisso Corporation started developing plastics, drugs, and perfumes through the use of a chemical called acetaldehyde in 1932. Acetaldehyde is produced using mercury as a compound, and was key component in the production of their products. The company was considered an economic success in Japan, particularly because it was one industry that maintained development despite Japan's suffering throughout and right after WWII. As other companies economically developed during Japan's post-war period, so did the Chisso Corporation. Chisso Corporation's sales increased dramatically, partly due to Chisso being the only manufacturer of a primary chemical called D.O.P, a plasticizer (diotyl phthalate). Having a monopoly on the chemical was a distinct advantage. Since Chisso Corporation was the main industry in the small town, the town's growth period from 1952 to 1960 paralleled Chisso's progress. 

It was not until the mid-1950's that people began to notice a "strange disease". Victims were diagnosed as having a degeneration of their nervous systems. Numbness occurred in their limbs and lips. Their speech became slurred, and their vision constricted. Some people had serious brain damage, while others lapsed into unconsciousness or suffered from involuntary movements. Furthermore, some victims were thought to be crazy when they began to uncontrollably shout and some thought that  the cats of the district were going insane when they witnessed "suicides" by the cats. Finally, birds were also dying  in unusual circumstances. The sequence of these unexplainable happenings caused something akin to panic to the townsfolk of Minamata. Dr. Hajime Hosokawa from the Chisso Corporation Hospital, reported on May 1, 1956 that, "an unclarified disease of the central nervous system has broken out". Dr. Hosokawa linked the fish diets to the disease, and soon investigators were promulgating that the sea was being polluted by poisons from the Chisso Corporation. The Chisso Corporation denied the accusations and maintained their production. However, by 1958, Chisso Corporation transferred their dumping from the Minamata Bay to the Minamata River hoping to diminish accusations toward the company. The Minamata River flows past the town Hachimon, and into the Shiranui Sea. The people of this area also began developing the "strange disease" after a few months. The government of the Kumamoto Prefecture responded by imposing a ban which allowed fisherman to "catch" fish, but not to "sell" fish from the bay. Since this was their main food source, the people continued to eat fish at home, but the ban released government officials from any responsibility for those who developed the illness. Finally, in July 1959, researchers from Kumamoto University concluded that organic mercury was the cause of the "Minamata Disease". A number of committees, of which Chisso Corporation employees were members, formed to research the problem. The committees denied this information and refuted the direct link of mercury to the strange disease. Finally, Dr. Hosokawa performed concealed cat experiments in front of the Chisso Corporation management, and illustrated the affects of mercury poisoning by feeding the cats acetaldehyde. Dr. Hosokawa was the first person who made a valiant effort in proving to Chisso Corporation that they were the ones accountable for the mercury poisoning. After the meeting with Chisso officials, Dr. Hosokawa was restricted from conducting any further research or experiments, and his findings were concealed by the corporation. Chisso Corporation began to make deals with the victims of the "Minamata Disease". People who were desperate and legally ignorant signed contracts which stated that Chisso Corporation would pay them for their misfortunes, but would accept no responsibility. In fact, there was even a clause which read, "if Chisso Corporation were later proven guilty, the company would not be liable for further compensation". The fishermen began protesting in 1959. They demanded compensation, but soon became intimidated by the threats of Chisso management. The victims feared that if they did not settle, they would never receive any kind of compensation. Chisso paid off some of the people while continuing to profit from increased sales. Chisso installed a "Cyclator" which was designed to treat waste water. The management however, often ignored this crucial step in their production process. It was not until 1968, that Chisso Corporation finally ended the poisoned discharges to the waters of Minamata. The company was forced into court in 1969, and it has been alleged that the only reason why the pollution finally stopped was simply because the method of chemical production using mercury became outdated. It was later determined in court that Chisso Corporation consistently polluted the waster of Minamata Bay from 1932-1968. 

It was at this stage that the legal process itself began to delay the payment of compensation to the victims. By 1974 only 798 victims had been officially recognized as having "Minamata Disease". Approximately 3,000 more people were waiting verification from the board of physicians in Kumamoto Prefecture. Thousands of people continued to eat fish from the Shiranui Sea, but there are no reportings of significant health hazards or mercury poisoning like those people who suffered in Minamata. In 2003, almost fifty years later, victims are still being compensated for damages.

Legal Issues

Victims were still in the process of suing Chisso Corporation for damages until very recently. The Japanese government is attempting to help Chisso Corporation from going bankrupt, but Chisso Corporation is already in substantial debt from paying past victims.

The Kumamoto District Court, Japanese government, and Central Pollution Board are all involved in the case. The courts in Kumamoto District determined rulings for the hearings. Victims testified their cases at the UN Environmental Conference in Sweden, but the UN did not intervene.

On March 20, 1973, Japan's Kumamoto District Court ruled: "It must be said that a chemical plant, in discharging the waste water out of the plant, incurs an obligation to be highly diligent; to confirm safety through researches and studies regarding the presence of dangerous substances mixed in the waste water as well as their possible effects upon the animal, the plan, and the human body, always availing itself of the highest skill and knowledge; to provide necessary and maximum preventive measures such as immediate suspension of operation if a case should arise where there be some doubts as to safety... in the final analysis...no plant can be permitted to infringe on and run at the sacrifice of the lives and health of the regional residents. The defendant's plan discharged acetaldehyde waste water with negligence at all times, and even though the quality and content of the waste water of the defendant's plan satisfied statutory limitations and administrative standards, and even if the treatment methods it employed were superior to those taken at the work yards of other companies in the same industry, these are not enough to upset the said assumption...the defendant cannot escape from the liability of negligence".

The waters and marine life of the bay were affected by the waste dumping of Chisso Corporation. Minamata Bay is a rich fishing and farming village. Therefore, when the water was polluted, it had a dramatic effect on the main resource of Minamata. The issue was decided by Kumamoto District Court.

The many years of dumping was extremely costly to the Minamata town and Chisso Corporation. Chisso lost money in boycotts of their products, in compensation to the victims, and in the overall stress to the company as a result of the mercury scandal. There is no known figure on exactly how much money Chisso paid to the victims. The payment was in the millions, and people are still fighting for money today. In addition, the people who were fishermen in Minamata suffered greatly since they had no source of income when the waters were poisoned. Minamata was known as a fishing town, and the ocean was their main environmental resource. When the water became polluted, they could no longer depend on this as a viable resource, and had no other way to make a living.

Chisso Corporation no longer uses the chemicals which caused "Minamata's Disease", or dump any kind of waste into the bay. However, the victims have not received full retribution. Some people of Minamata are still trying to sue for monetary compensation from Chisso Corporation.

Chisso Corporation has implemented environmentally safe technology in their production process. The factory quit using the mercury method of production in 1968, because the system became outdated.

Cultural Factors

Although cultural factors did not play a direct role in the dispute between Chisso Corporation and the "Minamata Disease" victims, it did have an indirect impact. Traditionally, Japanese people are known to be culturally humble and loyal to their social superiors. Humility and loyalties are virtues which are part of Japanese religious background (Confucianism). In the Confucian ethic, humility is a honorable attribute, and people are expected to be loyal and show respect to their elders. This relates to the Minamata victims, because it was the Japanese humility which kept them from initially pressing charges against Chisso Corporation. The Japanese people most likely did not want to believe that the company would intentionally dump waste into their fishing waters, and then deny the accusations outright. Another example was Dr. Hosokawa's loyalty to the company. Dr. Hosokawa was the first person to prove that Chisso Corporation was responsible for dumping the mercury, but his loyalty to his company kept him quiet. It was noted by researchers that he was internally tormented by knowing this information, but felt he could not say anything. Finally, on his deathbed, Dr. Hosokawa testified to the court that Chisso Corporation knew their waste dumping had caused the mercury poisoning. His statements were crucial to the courts final verdict in 1973.

In summary, cultural explanations can help illustrate why the Minamata cases have been prolonged over many years. The legal system in Japan is very different than that of the UK or the United States, and this case is unusual compared to the norm in Japan. Furthermore, Japanese citizens feel a loyalty to their government and to their companies. These people were outwardly victimized by an authority figure which is quite uncommon in Japanese culture.

The people in Minamata and Niigata have suffered from gross deformities, brain damage, and death. The health problems are endless, and people are still suffering. This case is definitely a human right violation. Chisso Corporation may have not realized the effects of mercury poisoning, but they negligently dumped waste into the water. The company also denied their negligence and tried to misrepresent their accountability. Therefore, not only were the people violated physically, but the victims were disregarded mentally.