Industrial mercury poisoning that sickened an entire Japanese town residents in Minamata City and the surrounding areas are still dealing with the medical effects of Minamata disease According to the Japanese Ministry of the Environment almost 3,000 people had been certified as Minamata patients Some researchers believe this number is too low with reports that "tens of thousands" of people in the area have neurological symptoms consistent with methylmercury poisoning particularly from organic mercury (methylmercury) The severity of symptoms depends on the type of mercury Most people in the US can avoid mercury poisoning by limiting their intake of seafood containing high amounts of methylmercury fish such as salmon and flounder are great choices be careful when using products that contain metallic mercury and even novelty jewelry can pose the risk of mercury exposure if their contents are released Ministry of the Environment Government of Japan. Minamata disease the history and measures - chapter 3 Harada M. Minamata disease: methylmercury poisoning in Japan caused by environmental pollution WNYC, Sciene Diction. Mercury: how it made cats dance Kessler R. The Minamata Convention on Mercury: a first step toward protecting future generations L A. Minamata: the irresponsibility of the Japanese state Yokoyama H. Mercury Pollution in Minamata Japan, Ministry of the Environment. Lessons from Minamata disease and mercury management in Japan Yorifuji T. Lessons from an early-stage epidemiological study of Minamata disease The Japan Times. Top court holds state to account for Minamata World Health Organization. Mercury and health U.S. Food and Drug Administration. Advice about eating fish Environmental Protection Agency. How people are exposed to mercury The Japan Times. Mercury pact falls short on Minamata Today's print edition Home Delivery Hundreds of people prayed for the victims of Minamata disease in a ceremony in southwestern Japan on Thursday 69 years after the neurological disorder caused by polluted industrial wastewater was officially recognized Environment Minister Keiichiro Asao and Keizo Yamada a city in Kumamoto Prefecture.googletag.cmd.push(function() { googletag.display('div-gpt-ad-1499653692894-0'); }); a 58-year-old local resident whose grandparents and parents were recognized as patients said in a speech that they did not hate people or look sad even when they were discriminated against after developing symptoms "The whole family must have overcome the suffering and sorrow together," he said voicing hope that his grandchildren will remember happy memories about the sea when they grow up "We once again apologize for not being able to prevent the spread of Minamata disease," Asao said in the ceremony "We should not repeat the disastrous pollution like Minamata disease again." an Environment Ministry official cut off the microphone to interrupt patients' remarks The then-environment minister traveled to Minamata later again to apologize There were 2,284 certified patients of Minamata disease in Kumamoto Prefecture and neighboring Kagoshima Prefecture as of the end of March while 1,271 others had applied for certification In a time of both misinformation and too much information quality journalism is more crucial than ever.By subscribing Your subscription plan doesn't allow commenting. To learn more see our FAQ Sponsored contents planned and edited by JT Media Enterprise Division The Secretariat of the Minamata Convention is located at the International Environment House 1 in Geneva including fluorescent tubes and compact fluorescent bulbs are being replaced with energy-efficient light-emitting diode (LED) alternatives This initiative mirrors the global efforts to phase out the manufacture, import, and export of mercury-added products, as mandated by Annex A, Part I of the Minamata Convention’s text (recently amended at its fifth meeting of the Conference of the Parties) which has taken place during eight months from May to December 2024 including significant expenses associated to materials and labor for electrical work This renovation will safely eliminate approximately 51.44 kilograms of mercury from the lighting system of the Environment House Linking economic and environmental benefits the LED lights are expected to reduce not only energy consumption and ceiling lights for restrooms that have an estimated lifespan of 60,000 hours four times longer than traditional fluorescent lamps the replaced lamps are being carefully dismantled and disposed of ensuring the responsible management of hazardous waste as required by Swiss regulations The Minamata Convention requires Parties to phase out the manufacturing import and export of fluorescent lamps for general lighting by 2027 Users of fluorescent lamps will also need to take action like this to shift to LED lighting These small actions by all the stakeholders will contribute to protecting human health and the environment from the effects of this hazardous substance Learn more about how the Minamata Convention is working to consider the phase-out of additional mercury-added products and processes under Annexes A and B. Microsoft Office - How to open access to videos and create a playlist | iSeek Kumamoto — New sluice gates have been installed at a drain in Minamata where toxic industrial wastewater was once discharged causing residents to develop a serious neurological disorder known as Minamata disease please disable the ad blocking feature and reload the page This website uses cookies to collect information about your visit for purposes such as showing you personalized ads and content By clicking “Accept all,” you will allow the use of these cookies Users accessing this site from EEA countries and UK are unable to view this site without your consent Minamata disease was one of the four major industrial pollution disasters in Japan during the mid-20th century A chemical manufacturer in the city discharged wastewater containing methylmercury into the sea such as immobility and loss of the senses of taste and touch Industrial wastewater containing methylmercury was discharged from the drain from 1932 to 1968 The city government announced in 2023 that it was removing the sluice gates due to aging but many people called for their preservation as historical artifacts It later decided to remove the old gates and install duplicates are about 3 meters high and 2.4 meters wide They were installed with a crane on April 11 I’m glad we were able to preserve this place so that we can pass on its history forever,” said a Minamata disease patient Our weekly ePaper presents the most noteworthy recent topics in an exciting © 2025 The Japan News - by The Yomiuri Shimbun A close-up of a Japanese fisherman's contorted hand grimly reminds us of Minamata disease's human toll though it took over a decade for the government to link it to industrial pollution Many photographers have chronicled the Minamata tragedy caused by severe mercury poisoning over the years to ensure it is remembered by the world and future generations Nine photographers are now showcasing vivid black-and-white images of its victims and highlight the tragic lessons of the past Minamata disease was first reported in the city of Minamata which caused thousands of deaths and affected many others resulted from consuming seafood contaminated with methylmercury a toxin released in industrial wastewater by chemical company Chisso Corp known as "Minamata: The Eyes of Photographers," features over 200,000 photos which have been collected for digitization along with other materials such as the photographers' interview notes The group that organized the project hopes to preserve the "memories" of the photographers who documented Minamata cases from their unique perspectives members of the organization visited the environment ministry to submit a request to create a government framework for the preservation and utilization of the photos which aims for the photo collection to be used primarily as educational material was established in May 2022 at the urging of Toshio Yoshinaga who has been involved in efforts to preserve Minamata disease-related data managing the valuable collection has become increasingly difficult One of the project members is Shisei Kuwabara who was a pioneer in reporting on Minamata disease in 1960 Kuwabara's striking photo of the severely twisted hand of fisherman Iwazo Funaba whom he met in 1960 in a hospital ward for Minamata disease patients became one of the iconic images highlighting the devastating impact of the illness Funaba shared a hospital room with his son Tokichi who also suffered from Minamata disease before passing away The hospital walls bore the "nail marks" left by his son During the 10 years Kuwabara interviewed Funaba the fisherman's symptoms became increasingly worse his fingers becoming contorted to the point that they curled toward his wrist Funaba came to see himself as a symbol of the harsh reality of Minamata disease and asked Kuwabara to photograph his disfigured hand he was unable to lift his hand for the photo and needed his wife's support from behind As he grunted what Kuwabara interpreted as "hurry up and take it," the photographer quickly pressed the camera's shutter Although Funaba could not communicate clearly due to a speech impediment caused by the illness Kuwabara recalled that they were still able to "connect through smiles and short conversations." It has been 68 years since the first case of Minamata disease was reported on May 1 by local health authorities as a "strange disease with unknown cause." On Sept the central government announced it had reached a consensus on the origin of the Minamata disease and recognized it as a pollution-caused illness But the illness is still not fully understood Kuwabara attended this year's annual memorial service for the victims He has lent his work to the media for articles and has been interviewed numerous times about his experiences photographing patients with the disease over the years I don't force people to interpret what happened," Kuwabara said who also serves as the project's executive director emphasized the importance of preserving the photos along with the photographers' memories "It helps to highlight that each pollution victim had a life Japan minister apologizes for interrupting Minamata victims' remarks Japan court orders compensation to 26 unrecognized Minamata victims "Flesh-eating" bacterium cases hit record high in Japan To have the latest news and stories delivered to your inbox Simply enter your email address below and an email will be sent through which to complete your subscription Please check your inbox for a confirmation email Thank you for reaching out to us.We will get back to you as soon as possible This event co-organized by the Minamata Convention on Mercury the United Nations Environment Programme and the Geneva Environment Network will feature leading voices to highlight the need of addressing the underlying socio-cultural norms surrounding skin-lightening products Hundreds of millions of people globally use skin-lightening products (SLPs) advertising and marketing that often reinforce the bias that a lighter skin tone is more desirable than darker skin tone The bias is rooted in systemic colorism that promotes harmful stereotypes that associate lighter skin with beauty and better prospects of employment that not only damage the skin but can lead to serious health concerns Many cosmetic products still contain mercury to increase their whitening effect The concentration of mercury in SLPs can vary based on manufacturing standards and labelling discrepancies making it difficult for consumers and authorities to identify mercury in these products The Minamata Convention on Mercury explicitly bans the manufacture import and export of mercury-added cosmetics the decision-making body of the Minamata Convention decided to eliminate the 1 ppm threshold for mercury content in cosmetics including skin lightening soaps and creams thereby making it explicit that no mercury can be added to cosmetics who have companies in their jurisdiction that manufactures SLPs that contain mercury will need to abide with the new Convention requirement the COP agreed to consider the challenges in phasing out the use of mercury in cosmetics and measures to address these challenges at its upcoming meeting in November 2025 there is still insufficient awareness of health risks posed by mercury in cosmetics and internet shopping platforms in many countries which have embedded colorism in marketing campaigns exacerbates the problem Leading voices invited to speak at this event will stress that without addressing the underlying socio -cultural norms surrounding SLPs – the idealization of whiteness and the concepts association with beauty wealth and power – the demand for SLPs will continue This session took place in-person and online. More information More information The overall goal of the UNEP Global Mercury Partnership is to protect human health and the environment from the releases of mercury. © United Nations Environment Programme Japanese Environment Minister Asao Keiichiro has begun discussions with groups of Minamata disease sufferers on the eve of a memorial service for victims of the pollution-induced illness. The memorial service is held every year on May 1 in the city of Minamata, in the southwestern prefecture of Kumamoto. Last year, when the then-environment minister met with sufferers after the service, ministry staff cut off some participants' microphones while they were speaking, saying they had exceeded their allotted time. This year, the sufferers have been given more time to convey their requests to the ministry. Asao arrived in Minamata City on Wednesday afternoon and inspected patient accommodations. He later held discussions with six groups. At the start of their meeting, Asao apologized for what happened last year. One participant, Otosako Satoshi, explained how he has had trouble walking since he was in elementary school, and that he suffers from a variety of symptoms, such as numbness in his hands and feet, and headaches. He said the symptoms are getting worse, and he cannot even walk now. He pleaded for certification as a Minamata disease patient. The groups of sufferers are seeking a review of the patient recognition system. Asao reiterated the government's stance that Supreme Court rulings have not denied current certification standards, saying the government will comprehensively study causal relations and other matters. The groups also said the ministry should explain why the microphones were switched off last year. Asao is scheduled to meet with a total of 10 groups on Wednesday and Thursday. a 12-year-old congenital victim of Minamata disease Photo W Eugene Smith and © Aileen Mioko Smith is an Irish-Canadian writer of nonfiction. Her writing has appeared in the Los Angeles Times, Guardian US, The New Statesman and the Nation, among others, and she is the author of Surrender (2019) Edited byMarina Benjamin SaveSYNDICATE THIS ESSAYEmailSavePostShareThere is a moment in my life that marks a split between a ‘before’ and an ‘after’ sitting cross-legged on the cream carpet in my family’s living room in Ottawa when I opened a large The texture of the paper was strange: it was matt The ink was blacker than anything I had seen My fingers left small shiny traces on the paper My child’s mind could not understand what it was seeing Humans who had been put together incorrectly Pipes discharging wastewater into a black sea Boats with men and women hauling bulging nets onto the decks I was staring into my father’s copy of Minamata (1975) W Eugene Smith and Aileen M Smith’s masterpiece of photojournalism with accompanying essays It was published three years after the Smiths’ photo essay ‘Death-Flow from a Pipe’ had appeared in Life magazine Eugene Smith and his then-wife Aileen had spent three years in the small fishing village of Minamata in Japan documenting the effects of mercury poisoning by the Japanese Chisso Corporation for the purposes of their essay which was expanded to become the hefty Minamata Aileen M Smith and W Eugene Smith in Minimata I came across the photo that truly claimed me We are in a small room; the photographer must also be in the room as the figures are so close to us a woman holds the rigid body of a teenager All we can make out is her three-quarter profile her teeth showing through a slightly opened mouth deformed hands hovering in the air; one knee resting on her mother’s wrist Her thick black hair flops back from her forehead You can almost feel the steam filling the room like hot breath This photo ‘Tomoko and Mother in the Bath’ by Eugene Smith triggered something profound that I have never been able to shake or even fully comprehend The effect it had on me has something to do with the fact that it was pure accident that led me to it; the photo found me By discovering it in one of my father’s books The pain captured in this photo – and captured so humanely – was something that I This kind of before-and-after moment is expressed by Susan Sontag in her book On Photography (1977) Her ‘first encounter with the photographic inventory of ultimate horror’ It was photos of Bergen-Belsen and Dachau that she came across by chance in a bookstore in Santa Monica in July 1945 that broke her ‘Nothing I have seen – in photographs or in real life – ever cut me as sharply it seems plausible to me to divide my life into two parts before I saw those photographs (I was 12) and after.’ contorted body was the moment I realised there was such a thing as horror and that those who are most affected are often victims of chance or fate by dint of being born in Minamata rather than Ottawa I am unnerved by the fact that Tomoko’s appearance was so unlike a healthy teenager that Sontag and referred instead to ‘Smith’s photograph of a dying youth writhing on his [sic] mother’s lap’ The youth was not male nor was she dying – she lived another five years The composition of this photo echoes the classic pose of the Virgin Mary holding a dying Christ Sontag sees it as a ‘Pietà for the world of plague victims’ is the subtext here – but it is important to note that she did not die from an uncontainable virus She died because of a human-made environmental catastrophe Michelangelo’s Pietà in St Peter’s Basilica in the Vatican. Courtesy Wikipedia the Chisso Corporation dumped methylmercury-laced wastewater into Minamata Bay a ‘strange disease’ started to appear in town months or years from the first signs of illness – were described anecdotally a Chisso Corporation doctor gave it a name: Minamata disease blind and with a range of disabilities as the mercury passed through their mother’s placenta the unborn baby acted as a sponge for the toxin Her family called her their ‘treasure child’ because she spared her mother from the disease it spreads; there is always a story in its wake the Chisso Corporation would not accept any correlation between its industrial waste and Minamata disease Yet this connection made so much sense – even to my child’s mind: you poison the water How could it have taken so many years and a lengthy photographic exposé to join the dots The Smiths’ 1972 photo essay in Life drew global attention to the issue of mercury poisoning Their photographs played a huge part in Chisso accepting responsibility and paying compensation to those affected by the disease the corporation had paid out $86 million to claimants The company was also ordered to ‘clean up’ the contamination But the thing with water is that you can’t clean it up I don’t remember going beyond the photo of Tomoko when I pored over Minamata as a child But I do remember the feeling I had as I closed the book: I knew and that poison – like horror – doesn’t observe boundaries: it never stays in the pot It wasn’t simply the content of that image that seared my memory but the fact that someone had gone there to document it This gets to the heart of the importance of the photographic enterprise A photo like ‘Tomoko and Mother in the Bath’ exists because someone needed to take it The moment of a photograph’s inception is the moment a human has put themselves behind a camera to be a witness The photographer’s intention is woven into the fabric of the photograph from its beginning You could say that the decisions made on the part of the maker (where to stand where to point the camera) are the source of an image All of which is to say that one can feel the presence of Eugene Smith in the image of Tomoko – a presence unique to him to his desire to enter that bathroom and show us that even intimate moments are not immune to being penetrated by the horrors of this world Images labelled ‘content’ are deprived of context or meaning We are daily bombarded with photographic images whose provenance we simply have no idea about ‘What good was served’ by seeing photos of camp survivors But perhaps an equally important question is: how were the subjects served by the reproduction and propagation of their image Eugene Smith believed he had two responsibilities: one to his subjects and one to his viewers The story of ‘Tomoko and Mother in the Bath’ begins with Smith spending enough time with the Kamimuras for them to trust him during an intimate moment but it does not end with the image on photographic paper or the deaths of the subject and the maker When a French television company contacted the Kamimura family about a documentary they were making about the most important photographs of the 20th century stating that he wanted his daughter to ‘be laid to rest’ A photograph emigrates from the territory of the present into the well of timelessness where art dwells Aileen Smith had inherited the copyright to the image after Eugene’s death in 1978; when she heard of the family’s reaction, she travelled to Minamata and passed on the copyright to the Kamimuras. ‘This photograph would be a profanity if it continued to be issued against the will of Tomoko and her family,’ Aileen said ‘The decision I made as holder of copyright to the photograph “Tomoko and Mother in the Bath” was … made after a great deal of deliberation with love and care,’ she wrote – no doubt thinking about Eugene’s sense of responsibility to his subjects Yoshio Kamimura could not alter the fate of his daughter but he could decide how her image was used – if at all it became against copyright to reproduce this photo the one I have been carrying inside myself since I was a child The Smiths knew the limits of the photographic image ‘Photography is neither medicine nor god,’ Aileen wrote ‘The photograph “Tomoko and Mother in the Bath” In its passage from ‘document of reality’ to ‘iconic work of art’ – a journey that often happens with the passage of time – a photograph emigrates from the territory of the present into the well of timelessness where art dwells It’s a journey that can also drain an image of some of its potency As an exercise in photographic time-travel I think about aerial images of razed old-growth forests featuring lost-looking solitary orangutans or unmanned drone images of ravaged war-torn cities often described as ‘like something from a movie’ Will some emigrate from ‘document’ or ‘reportage’ to ‘art’ Do we have a responsibility to prevent this alchemy or should we welcome it This is the paradox of the Pietà: although we may be broken by confronting horror we also risk being comforted by the beauty of an image But if we remember that someone went there to document it perhaps we can bring some of the immediacy and potency back to an image This act of returning authorship to a photograph cannot happen with the endless stream of images we scroll past on our phones Images anesthetize,’ Sontag writes when she describes how the shock of a photographic image ‘wears off with repeated viewings … making the horrible seem more ordinary – making it appear familiar I had no idea where my father’s first edition had gone after he died so I asked my husband for a copy for Christmas but nothing like the original of my childhood and its soft cover sat more comfortably in my arms I started reading it in bed on Christmas day I had shrunk down the image over the years in my memory until it was small enough to fit inside me Ryoko and Tomoko’s surname is given as Uemura (a mistranslation by Eugene Smith from the Japanese) His text tells us that on the day of the court victory for victims affected by mercury poisoning one newspaper ran the headline ‘The Day That Tomoko Smiled’ Smith adds with his trademark directness: ‘She couldn’t have cared less She couldn’t possibly have known.’ And if Tomoko had been aware of the newspaper headline Tomoko Kamimura died in 1977 at the age of 21 that what had happened in Minamata could happen anywhere – that horror could not be contained – was borne out On the reverse of Smith’s Pietà was the startling heading: ‘Canada: Half a World Away’ The Canadian section in Minamata about Grassy Narrows runs to a mere four pages Grassy Narrows is a First Nation settlement about an hour’s drive from Kenora I knew of Kenora because it had been in the news back in the late 1970s and early ’80s one of my sisters started dating a member of the Kitigan Zibi Anishinabeg First Nation I had visited his family on his reservation in upstate New York He had a sister my age and we have remained in touch all these years My sister married him and the issues around the government’s treatment of people I knew became another source of grief and horror to my young self linked now to the seed that had been planted in me by the Smiths’ photographic work Aileen Smith begins the Canadian section in Minamata by telling us that Gene had received a letter from some Ontario residents who were ‘fighting a lonely battle against mercury and destroying their main source of income in the process’ These people owned a tourist business along the English-Wabigoon River near Kenora this land had been prime hunting and fishing territory for the Grassy Narrows tribe whose original name in the Ojibwe language is Asubpeeschoseewagong Netum Anishinabek and whose history and culture are based around a profound and ongoing connection to the land – a land that now appeared to be poisoning them Dryden Chemicals (a Canadian subsidiary of the British multinational the Reed Paper Group Ltd) used mercury to make caustic soda and chlorine for bleaching their paper products they dumped more than 9,000 kg of mercury into the English-Wabigoon River upstream of the Grassy Narrows reserve It turns out that Minamata was far closer to me than I had been told The story in Grassy Narrows tragically echoes the story in Minamata It would be comforting to think of this level of human and environmental devastation as something from the past There is little information out there about Ontario’s mercury-tainted water but a 2017 Canadian Broadcasting Corporation (CBC) article by the journalist Jody Porter reported that ‘90 per cent of the population in Grassy Narrows experiences symptoms of mercury poisoning’ including ‘neurological problems ranging from numbness in fingers and toes to seizures and cognitive delays.’ Health services on the reserve consist of one small nursing station the 17-year-old Calvin Kokopenace died from mercury poisoning in Grassy Narrows His younger sister Azraya struggled with the loss Ontario police officers dropped her off at the Lake of the Woods District Hospital in Kenora Her family has been trying to get an autopsy report and an inquest but no one will give them the information they need to understand Azraya’s final hours The 14-year-old has become another statistic in Canada’s long list of missing and murdered Indigenous women Azraya’s friends believe her death was tied to despair over the loss of her brother and we don’t know what’s going to happen because nobody is helping.’ It turns out that Minamata was far closer to me than I had been told the provincial government of Ontario told Grassy Narrows residents to stop eating fish Then all the commercial fisheries were shut down Yet the Canadian government still refused to admit there was a problem Dryden Chemicals executives insisted there was no correlation between their plant and the presence of mercury in the water despite the fact that fish caught near the mill showed much higher levels of mercury than fish caught further away Private water-testers found levels of mercury in fish in the English-Wabigoon River to be as high as 27.8 parts per million (ppm) the US Food and Drug Administration now says that the maximum safe level of mercury in seafood is 1 ppm The Canadian government has since admitted that ‘some mercury levels in local fish were 30 times what was “acceptable”.’ a quick Google of nearby Kenora brings up this: A ‘muskie’ is the shortened form of muskellunge a fish famous in Canada for its giant size a former chief of the Grassy Narrows community and a campaigner for environmental justice just one year after Porter interviewed him for her CBC article She wrote that Fobister ‘now has difficulty standing and swallowing … Even talking is a chore It often requires him to hold his lower jaw with his thumb to reduce the shaking long enough to form words.’ The government still won’t admit that anyone at Grassy Narrows has been poisoned – only that some people ‘experience symptoms of Minamata disease’ Where is the person willing to go there and document it The Canadian photographer Edward Burtynsky does indeed photograph ecological devastation in Ontario, his home province, and beyond. However, his photos of mines poisoned landscapes depict the land without its people Burtynsky turns ecological disaster into wall-size collectible images oozing terror and beauty he stood on the edges of vast open pit mines across North America to show us the precipitous craters left behind from mining His images are unsettling: tailing ponds sparkle like gemstones in Earth’s crust deep-cut mining sites become geometric quilts He later captured the patterned landscapes created by dryland farms in Spain from the open door of a helicopter he is using remote-controlled drones to photograph diseased olive trees in Puglia soil erosion in Turkey and rare earth metal mining among other ecologically devastating resource extraction His trajectory from a hand-held camera to aerial drones is the trajectory of our times and yet just below their surface they speak of devastation They fall fully formed into the well of art The problem with raising awareness of social or environmental issues whether in the form of Smith’s emotionally charged Pietà or Burtynsky’s cool abstractions we would need to completely change the way we live and live out our lives on the most granular level disposable technologies requiring the extraction of metals and a mindset of uncontained overconsumption mean that situations like Grassy Narrows will carry on Expecting a single photograph or photographer to change this is unfair Sontag believed that: ‘The history of photography could be recapitulated as the struggle between two different imperatives: beautification and truth-telling …’ She continues: ‘Like the post-romantic novelist and the reporter the photographer was supposed to unmask hypocrisy and combat ignorance.’ I would add that when a photograph lands in the right hands it can also plant a seed in a person’s deepest psyche This sometimes comes at a personal cost not only to the subject Smith was badly beaten by Chisso’s hired security guards while photographing protesters in Japan He suffered serious physical injuries that dogged him for the rest of his life Since I started writing about Smith’s photo I have noticed that my relationship to ‘Tomoko and Mother in the Bath’ has altered dramatically over the years Where my childhood gaze was locked on Tomoko my adult gaze now registers the presence of Tomoko’s mother is naked and vulnerable in the bath with her daughter Her downcast eyes are fixed on her daughter’s upturned face What I hadn’t grasped then but now see so clearly is that those of us unaffected so directly by horror share something profound with Tomoko’s mother suffering bodies left in the wake of devastation Seeing how horror can arrive unbidden on the doorstep of the innocent was the moment I lost my innocence my gaze has shifted from the teenager to her mother I’ve realised that is it she who holds the key Maybe this is the most we can expect from an image of horror: that it asks us not to look away and that we allow it to do its work within us: that we take on the gaze of Tomoko’s mother Eugene Smith went there to document it; Life magazine brought his photo to the world EmailSavePostShareSYNDICATE THIS ESSAY Saveessay Like today’s large language models, 16th-century humanists had techniques to automate writing – to the detriment of novelty Saveessay After a murderous kidnapping in Nigeria, I launched a campaign to put a stop to the abductions. Why did no one listen? When AI takes over the practice of science we will likely find the results strange and incomprehensible. Should we worry? In Plato’s Symposium, Socrates shared a theory of love from the teachings of a ‘non-Athenian woman’. Who was she really? Saveessay Condemned to death by firing squad, French resistance fighters put pen to paper. Their dying words can teach us how to live Saveessay When we look for extraterrestrials, we often peer into the depths of space. But alien life might be closer than you think Kumamoto — As Thursday marked the 69th year since the first official recognition of Minamata disease Environment Minister Keiichiro Asao met Thursday morning with an association of undiagnosed patients of the disease and another sufferers group in Minamata demanded the correction of disparities in compensation and support between patients diagnosed with the disease and undiagnosed patients “The symptoms are the same for the patients who have been diagnosed with the disease and those who have not,” said Matsuzaki suffered from symptoms particular to Minamata disease but died without being recognized as a patient Matsuzaki took part in a meeting between groups of Minamata disease sufferers and then Environment Minister Shintaro Ito in Minamata a ministry official switched off the microphones and interrupted Matsuzaki’s remarks about his wife claiming that he had spoken longer than his group’s allotted time of three minutes The ministry was criticized for what happened and Ito later made another visit to Minamata and apologized to Matsuzaki the ministry arranged for Asao to visit Minamata on Wednesday to allow him to have enough time to meet sufferers groups the two groups made some demands to the ministry They included improving care and welfare support measures for undiagnosed patients which are said to be insufficient compared to such measures for officially recognized patients “I will listen to their needs and continue exchanging opinions with those concerned,” Asao said but he did not speak about details of actual measures for rectifying the problems The Magnum photographer made his last photo essay about industrial mercury poisoning in the Japanese city of Minamata helping to bring justice and visibility to the victims W. Eugene Smith was a collaboration between Smith and his then wife Aileen M industrial pollution remains a global catastrophe and the work feels as urgent today as it did nearly 50 years ago “All these stories of people fighting give courage Even if it’s not the same issue or continent,” says Aileen as executive director of the environmental group Green Action (Japan) works as an activist against nuclear power “This kind of communication is really important; rather than just hammering facts your heart is moved—and that’s what really creates core change.” The Phoblographer may receive affiliate compensation for products purchased using links in this article. For more information, please visit our Disclaimers page. One of the great photojournalists of the 20th century Smith was one of the few luminaries who shaped photo stories in the way we know them today not only catapulted Smith to fame but also illustrated the power of the young art form Smith was committed to documenting the human condition in all its forms before his demise in 1978 from a heart stroke continues to be the most influential series of all time: Minamata Lead image of W. Eugene Smith’s Minamata is courtesy of Bauman Rare Books a chemical factory in the quaint city of Minamata discreetly released industrial wastewater into the city’s bay and Shiranui Sea a deadly chemical that is known to affect the nervous system which led to severe cases of mercury poisoning Despite such a disaster continuing for three decades neither the government nor the corporation lifted a single finger to prevent its spread symptoms such as numbness in the hands and feet and deterioration of speech and hearing became prominent in individuals and even death within weeks of the commencement of the signs Those who were pregnant during this period gave birth to children affected by extensive cerebral damage and signs identical to those impacted by cerebral palsy but sometimes – just sometimes – one photograph or a group of them can lure our senses into awareness photographs can summon enough emotion to be a catalyst to thought According to The New York Times the company even suppressed the research that “pointed to (its) recklessness.” But when the cases piled up to the breaking point in 1968 the government officially issued a statement recognizing mercury poisoning as “Minamata disease.” Thus began the struggle for victims’ compensation and a fight for justice The victims were receptive; the feeling was: ‘We want the world to know’.” Eugene Smith and his wife chose to rent a residence close to one of the victim’s houses the Smiths became close to the families during their conversations and travel Smith’s intimacy with the families was a powerful element of his photography This relationship and understanding also led Aileen to withhold the publication of an image called Tomoko and Mother in the Bath Ryoko’s soft and loving expression contrasts starkly with Tomoko’s blankness It’s a photograph that will certainly make you feel sorrowful and enraged at the greediness of capitalists The first word I would strike from the annals of journalism is the word objective Although the photograph is now available online Aileen’s decision then was out of respect for her subjects If you glance through the book’s pages you will see many photographs illustrating the emotional connection between the photographers and the individuals before their lens one can see the emotional toll diseases took—not only on the victims but also on those who document earnestly Eugene Smith and Aileen went to speak to Chisso about the aftermath of their heinous crimes a year after their arrival they were met with reluctance and violence The latter clash was so severe for Eugene that it induced temporary blindness in one of the eyes and blackouts when he lifted his hand Eugene’s other injuries and ailments from WWII began to affect him Euegene Smith continued photographing Minamata to portray the victims’ strength and humanness Perhaps his own ailments were forgotten during the heartbreaking encounters with the victims and their families And each time I pressed the shutter release it was a shouted condemnation hurled with the hope that the picture might survive through the years with the hope that they might echo through the minds of men in the future – causing them caution and remembrance and realization While it has been decades since the photo essay was published the images continue to live in the memories of not just the victims but anyone who came or will come across them Perhaps the best part about Minamata is that W Eugene Smith’s hope to change the evils of the world through photography continues to echo in the determination of emerging photographers even today The Governing Board of the Specific International Programme (SIP) of the Minamata Convention on Mercury at its Tenth Meeting held in Geneva from January 22 to 24 approved 10 projects for funding in the Fourth Round Thirty-six applications were submitted by Parties to the Fourth Round of which 29 were deemed eligible for further consideration by the Board at the meeting disclosed that the Fourth Round resulted in the highest number of applications to the Programme to date and five from Latin America and the Caribbean shows the strong commitment of the Parties to the full implementation of the Convention and also shows the ongoing and growing need for support from the financial mechanism successful projects were submitted by Brazil Baloyi and Clark added: “On behalf of the Board we would like to congratulate these applicants for developing strong proposals for capacity-building and technical assistance in support of the implementation of their obligations under the Minamata Convention on Mercury “The Board would like to commend all the applicants for their diligent work in preparing and submitting their applications The quality of applications was outstanding resulting in very challenging deliberations for the Board had the funding envelope been larger for this Round it would have liked to approve more applications The decisions we took in this meeting will be communicated to all applicants by the Secretariat in the coming days “The Board would like to thank Austria and the United States for their contributions to the Fourth Round of the Specific International Programme “The Board looks forward with anticipation to the Fifth Round of applications Given the high interest shown in the Programme and the significant country needs expressed we would like to strongly encourage those in a position to do so to contribute to a robust next round of the Programme.” The Co-Chairs disclosed that the Board would present its full report to the Conference of the Parties at its sixth meeting we would also like to thank our fellow Board members for their diligent and constructive work in preparation for and throughout the meeting All the members of the Board join us in thanking the Secretariat of the Minamata Convention for its excellent work in support of the work of the Board and of the implementation of all the projects both underway and closed during the life of the Programme to date.” AD Leave a rating/comment#PhotographyBack to ArticlesSHARE and Rimiko Yoshinaga is standing behind a podium in Minamata gazing at an auditorium packed with world leaders Silence descends upon the room as she begins recounting how a mysterious illness had killed her father decades earlier Yoshinaga would learn her father was one of thousands of Minamata-area residents poisoned in the 1950s and 1960s by industrial runoff laced with mercury The leaders listening to her on that sunny day in 2013 were hoping to save others from the same fate. They were in Japan to adopt the Minamata Convention on Mercury an ambitious global accord to rein in the use of a chemical that had plagued humanity for centuries “We went there and could hear the voices of the victims It was absolutely emotional,” Fernando Lugris a diplomat who chaired negotiations on the convention “We hoped that this convention would help many other communities around the world to prevent what happened in Minamata.” This 10 October marks the 10th anniversary of the adoption of the Minamata Convention, a deal that has been hailed as a triumph of international diplomacy. Some 147 parties have ratified the agreement which calls for countries to phase out mercury use in products ban the opening of new mercury mines and limit the emission of mercury into the environment “The Minamata Convention is such a significant global agreement for people [and] the planet,” says Monika Stankiewicz the Executive Secretary of the Minamata Convention Secretariat As we move forward to make mercury history I hope to see more countries joining the Minamata Convention.” The convention is hosted by the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) which has for nearly three decades worked to limit the fallout from mercury pollution “We at UNEP are proud to host the Secretariat for this Convention which protects the environment and human health including that of small-scale gold miners and children from the pernicious impacts of this dangerous neurotoxin,” says UNEP Executive Director Inger Andersen As the convention enters its second decade experts are buoyed by the progress of recent years manufacturers have begun finding alternatives to mercury in a range of products and public awareness about the dangers of mercury has grown But observers caution that much remains to be done before mercury pollution is consigned to the past. In 2019, 2 million people died as a result of chemical pollution with experts saying many of those fatalities were linked to mercury Humans have used mercury for thousands of years; it has cropped up in the historical record everywhere the chemical is present in myriad household products Despite its widespread use, mercury has been known for centuries to be toxic. Exposure can cause a range of serious health problems, including irreversible brain damage But much of the world would not begin to take the problem of mercury pollution seriously until the slow-motion disaster that engulfed Minamata From 1932 to 1968, a chemical factory in the coastal city discharged liquid containing high concentrations of methylmercury the chemical would accumulate in the fish they ate for decades the first human case of what would be called Minamata Disease was recorded Thousands more would suffer from brain damage fish and other species also exhibited symptoms 70,000 victims have been confirmed in the Minamata area but it has become clear that the number is more widespread,” says Yoichi Tani a spokesperson for the Minamata Disease Victims Mutual Aid Association which has been campaigning for compensation for victims since 1970 “The damage has continued to be underestimated.” While Minamata came to symbolize the dangers of mercury have long struggled with its toxic fallout In 1995, amid mounting concerns about the proliferation of toxic chemicals, UNEP called for urgent action on a range of pollutants. Six years later, under the organization’s guidance, the world signed the Stockholm Convention a global pact to eliminate or restrict scores of harmful chemicals “The 2002 assessment ground all the discussions in science and data,” says Stankiewicz “It was truly pivotal and allowed negotiators to immediately understand what the text of a convention needed to cover.” Scientific evidence and political will continued to build in the years to come UNEP’s Governing Council tasked Lugris with negotiating the Minamata Convention through a series of five international sessions “There were many people saying it is impossible,” Lugris recalls and humankind has been using mercury since ancient times We’ve known since that moment how dangerous it is While the Minamata Convention would be adopted in 2013 UNEP and the Minamata Convention have helped countries identify the risks associated with mercury and supported strong policymaking to reduce its use has provided 24 grants to help parties implement the accord UNEP has spearheaded the Global Mercury Partnership which brings together close to 250 governments intergovernmental and non-governmental organizations industry and academia to support the convention’s implementation. UNEP also participates in the planetGOLD programme, an effort led by the Global Environment Facility that aims to end the use of mercury in small-scale gold mining, an industry that generates US$30 billion annually The programme works in 23 developing countries “The Minamata Convention on Mercury is a very important treaty to prevent the spread of mercury damage the activities have only just begun,” says Tani the spokesperson for the Minamata Disease Victims Mutual Aid Association “There are many issues that need to be addressed.” On 30 October, leaders will gather in Geneva, Switzerland, for the fifth Conference of the Parties to the Minamata Convention an international gathering that aims to continue refining the agreement The agenda includes discussions on thorny issues including how to reduce the use of mercury in small-scale gold mining Delegates are also expected to discuss new restrictions on mercury-added products examine limits for mercury in waste and explore how to improve national reporting on mercury pollution Those will come alongside talks on the convention’s dedicated funding mechanism which provides technical assistance to countries experts are hopeful countries can make real headway on issues like those Andersen calls on countries to “redouble” their efforts in Geneva “Stepping up action on mercury is essential to protect human health and the environment from mercury pollution and help attain a pollution-free planet,” she says Lugris – now the Ambassador of Uruguay to China – hopes the trailblazing “Minamata spirit” remains strong among negotiators “The Minamata family has been always a bit different from other families We have always continued to be very progressive,” Lugris says I am sure that we can continue to make a lot of progress.” © 2025 UNEP Terms of Use Privacy Report Project Concern Report Scam Contact Us Banning new mercury mines is among milestones achieved under the Minamata Convention To help understand why this international treaty is important UN News has put together a quick guide on global efforts to eradicate exposure to quicksilver The landmark Convention is named after the Japanese coastal city where residents suffered decades of mercury poisoning from industrial wastewater released by a chemical factory in Minamata Bay. Worldwide, the inherent danger of mercury lies in the fact that it becomes more concentrated the higher it rises up the food chain. According to the UN Environment Programme (UNEP) mercury reaches its “highest level in predator fish such as in swordfish and sharks that may be consumed by humans” UNEP carried out the world’s first global mercury assessment in 2002 which found that almost no corner of the Earth was untouched by mercury – even the Arctic UNEP has also reported “serious impacts” on wildlife including reproduction among birds and predatory mammals This is why eradicating the risk of mercury to humans and the environment are the twin aims of the Convention no less than 150 States parties have ratified the Minamata Convention; concretely it calls for countries to phase out the use of mercury in manufacturing ban new mercury mines and limit mercury emissions “The agreement is the youngest global environmental treaty and addresses a significant public health concern,” said Executive Secretary of the Minamata Convention “As we move forward to make mercury history I hope to see more countries joining the Minamata Convention” The intention is that this will happen at the fifth meeting of the Conference of Parties to the Minamata Convention (COP-5) in Geneva from 30 October to 3 November The Convention came into force in 2017 after the 50th Member State ratified it. Helping to reinforce the force of the Minamata Convention is a trio of related UN international agreements – the Basel, Rotterdam and Stockholm Conventions. these three treaties* represent nothing less than the international community’s response to calls for urgent action on a range of pollutants. each of these treaties regulates chemicals and hazardous waste globally which was signed in May 2001 and came into force three years later to eliminate or restrict scores of harmful chemicals including pesticides and mercury The Basel Convention – adopted in March 1989 and entering into force three years later - and Minamata are also closely linked when it comes to tackling mercury waste its environmentally sound management and transportation across international boundaries. In 1998 The Rotterdam Convention was signed The multilateral treaty promotes a shared responsibility in relation to the importation of hazardous chemicals and came into force in 2004 Exposure to mercury can cause a range of serious health problems, including irreversible brain damage. Although these dangers are widely known Burning coal is also a major source of mercury with atmospheric mercury concentrations now some 450 per cent above natural levels The chemical is also commonly used in small-scale gold mining an industry that globally employs up to 20 million people The Convention has achieved several milestones extending the list of prohibited products and manufacturing processes that must not be imported or exported and establishing controls on emissions and releases Countries gathering at the UN in Geneva for Minamata discussions later this month plan to target the use of mercury in small-scale gold mining along with new restrictions on mercury-added products and improving national reporting on mercury pollution. Delegates will also consider proposals by Botswana and Burkina Faso on behalf of the Africa region to eliminate mercury-containing skin-lightening products fluorescent lighting and the use of mercury in dental fillings Jamaica and Sri Lanka have united in a $14 million project to eliminate the use of mercury in skin lightening products – a serious public health issue the UN Environment Programme (UNEP) announced on Tuesday. The Minamata Convention on Mercury is a global which was adopted in 2013 and entered into force on 16 August 2017 The core of the Convention is protection of human health as stated in Article 1: “to protect human health and the environment from anthropogenic emissions and releases of mercury and mercury compounds” Implementation of the Convention requires multisectoral action In order to raise awareness about health ministries’ preparedness and outstanding needs to be able to implement the health-related articles of the Convention WHO reviewed all the 59 MIA reports that had been submitted to the Secretariat of the Convention up to 31 July 2021 as well as two national implementation plans This publication summarizes the findings of the review and makes a number of recommendations More information about Mercury The Minamata Convention on Mercury is an international treaty designed to protect human health and the environment from anthropogenic emissions and releases of mercury and mercury compounds The year 2020 is a milestone for the Convention – it is when parties are required to cease the manufacture import and export of many mercury-containing products listed in the Convention Mercury has been mined and utilized since ancient times Alchemists believed that mercury was the component in all metals that gave them their “metal-ness.” The chemical properties of mercury make it popular for many uses it has high density and amalgamates easily with many metals If only people in the past knew what we know today Health effects of metal and especially of its more toxic and bio-accumulative form called methylmercury nervous system and is especially dangerous to women and unborn children since it is transmitted through the placenta Over the last decades, scientific evidence about the environmental fate of mercury and its compounds has grown tremendously. Past and present human activities have increased total atmospheric mercury concentrations by about 450% above natural levels (UNEP, 2019) Mercury from human activities can now be found in the most remote areas in marine mammals and fish in the Arctic and at the bottom of the Mariana Trench—the deepest oceanic trench on the planet mercury use continues – it is used to extract gold from ore on four continents and in certain products and industrial processes in countries around the world But the scientific knowledge has not been produced in vain In 2013, a new treaty, the Minamata Convention on Mercury was adopted by a global community under the auspices of UNEP The Convention is named after Minamata Bay in Japan to remember the lessons of the tragic health damage by industrial mercury pollution in the 1950s and 1960s The aim of the treaty is to protect the environment and the human health from anthropogenic emissions and releases of the toxic heavy metal It regulates the entire life cycle of mercury – its supply and the management of waste and contaminated sites This new piece of international law entered into force on 16 August 2017 and it already has 123 Parties 2020 is a major deadline in the Convention Parties are required to cease the manufacture These products are in every-day use and include batteries and certain types of measuring devices such as thermometers and manometers Mercury use in two major manufacturing processes Chlor-alkali industry and acetaldehyde production along with restricting use in other industrial processes Science will continue to be instrumental to ensure effective and cost-efficient implementation of the Convention by its Parties. For instance, we know that artisanal and small-scale gold mining (ASGM) is the largest user and emitter of mercury into the environment globally, accounting for 37% of total consumption and 38% of total anthropogenic emissions in 2015 (UNEP, 2019) The Minamata Convention Parties work to reduce the use of mercury in artisanal and small-scale gold mining without pushing the often-informal sector underground This is done primarily through formalization including improving transparency and accountability in global gold supply chains ASGM generates income for an estimated 10-15 million miners and another 100 million or more in the secondary economy and is thus an essential focus of economic recovery from COVID-19 and building back better Apart from the intentional use of mercury in processes and products industrial activities to produce power and other commodities are a major source of mercury contributing to air pollution Mercury emissions can be controlled by a wide range of technologies and best practices including many which reduce other air pollutants at the same time Shifting away from coal is an effective measure too In implementing the Minamata Convention, we are all working to reach the Sustainable Development Goals Coral might be back in once heavily-polluted Minamata Bay in Japan Minamata Bay people still suffer from past methyl-mercury poisoning Building back better is also about creating a world where people can live in good health for generations to come We celebrate the third anniversary of the Convention with the great enthusiasm that we can #MakeMercuryHistory Masami Ogata is a survivor of Minamata Disease a debilitating illness caused by industrial mercury poisoning which originated in the Japanese town of the same name in the 1950s As a UN conference on preventing future poisoning outbreaks gets underway As a storyteller at the Minamata Disease Municipal Museum Ogata helps to keep alive the memory of what is considered to be one of the most serious Japanese pollution incidents of the Twentieth Century The incident was caused by the release of toxic chemicals from an industrial plant and were then eaten by the local population More than 2,000 people have been recognized as victims had to fight for recognition and compensation: around 20 members of his family were affected by the disease “Minamata disease first caused damage to my family in September 1957 my grandfather Fukumatsu Ogata suddenly developed an unexplained illness he passed away in the isolation and infectious diseases ward at the Minamata City Hospital That was the first tragedy caused by Minamata disease in the Ogata family we were never told what caused the illness who was born a week before her grandfather developed the illness then other members of the Ogata family started falling ill one after another I noticed that I had very little sensation in my limbs would often cut my finger on the whetstone when sharpening knives We came to understand that it was caused by methylmercury poisoning but we couldn’t really make it public that we were victims because people thought that Minamata disease was contagious and people would say that no one should marry a member of the Ogata family “the man you are trying to marry is a Minamata disease victim Are you okay to go to such a place as a bride?” It was my daughter who said to me that I had to live honestly my application to be officially declared a Minamata disease victim was rejected until the Governor of Kumamoto Prefecture declared that she would recognize me as a Minamata disease patient I asked myself how I would live in the future so that I could tell people all over the world about the disease helped the world create the UN Convention named after the city which will save the lives of many people around the world The people of Minamata suffered a lot from the disease and were torn apart by showing people around the world what victims can do and achieve, I think the world can take courage." The Minamata Convention on Mercury is a global treaty to protect human health and the environment from the adverse effects of mercury The Convention includes a ban on new mercury mines the phase-out and phase-down of mercury use in a number of products and processes control measures on emissions to air and on releases to land and water and the regulation of the informal sector of artisanal and small-scale gold mining The Convention also addresses interim storage of mercury and its disposal once it becomes waste sites contaminated by mercury as well as health issues Helen is a freelance writer and editor for Medical News Today She joined in 2020 after completing her undergraduate degree in marine biology and zoology in North Wales Helen is studying a master’s degree in marine environmental protection which she hopes she can use to promote the health of the ocean Helen has a keen interest in research and enjoys surfing LinkedIn This individual is no longer a medical reviewer in our network The credentials and contact information reflected here may not be current William C. Lloyd III is an ABMS board certified surgeon and pathologist He is the health director of Transamerica in Denver Lloyd has extensive experience in helping health consumers make the most informed choices Jenna Fletcher is a freelance writer and content creator She writes extensively about health and wellness she has a personal interest in writing about overcoming grief and postpartum depression and anxiety and reducing the stigma surrounding child loss and mental healthcare She holds a bachelor’s degree from Muhlenberg College Yvette is an Editor for Medical News Today’s Updates team which focuses on maintaining the quality and accuracy of our clinical content mostly on government sponsored projects across the globe Her main specialty areas were health communications Her hobbies include cycling and scuba diving Zia Sherrell is a health copywriter and digital health journalist with over a decade of experience covering diverse topics from public health to medical cannabis Her mission is to empower and educate people by bringing health matters to life with engaging Zia enjoys traveling and chasing after her dogs which results in irreversible damage to the nervous system The disease first occurred when toxic pollutants affected the fish that comprised the food supply of the coastal community in Minamata There is evidence that mercury has been affecting people since the 19th century the impact did not gain recognition until the late 1950s after industrial mercury pollution caused tragic health damage to the people of Minamata Bay and the surrounding communities The original case to gain recognition began when a factory in Minamata City released discharge that included methylmercury The factory started producing acetaldehyde in 1932 with increased production after World War 2 between 1939 and 1945 residents were noticing the effects on local wildlife The situation gained official recognition in May 1956 when two children developed neurological symptoms there were numerous reports of neurological conditions Researchers established the cause to be mercury contamination in fish and shellfish with the factory highlighted as the primary cause Japan’s Ministry of Health and Welfare suggested insufficient evidence to implement the Food Sanitation Act health experts reported another epidemic of Minamata disease in the Agano River basin in Niigata Prefecture researchers collated more evidence and determined that the factory was responsible for the outbreak in 1962 Research suggests the government officially acknowledged the correlation in 1968 the mercury poisoning had spread along the entire coastline of the inland sea Minamata disease causes neurological signs and symptoms, including: Findings from Minamata showed that the onset of symptoms was often sudden. People who developed difficulty hearing, seeing, and swallowing deteriorated particularly quickly, experiencing convulsions and then coma and death depending on how much exposure people had to mercury but lower levels of methylmercury resulted in milder symptoms It is difficult to know the death rate from Minamata disease there were 2,282 cases that had official recognition many more cases are likely to have gone without recognition There have been several epidemics of Minamata disease, but each time pollution has been the underlying cause of symptoms The cases in Minamata and Niigata both resulted from consuming contaminated fish The largest methylmercury poisoning outbreak was in Iraq during the winter of 1971–1972 as the seed wheat contained methylmercury fungicide Research has highlighted the importance of rapid recognition suggesting that the original Minamata disease outbreak would have been much smaller if there had been measures to reduce contamination from the start There is little guidance in place for treating methylmercury poisoning. The main treatment measures include: the neurological effects of Minamata disease are often irreversible The Minamata Convention on Mercury is an international treaty to protect people from exposure to mercury and mercury compounds The treaty established a set of measures to meet this goal Despite decades of restoration efforts by the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) the methylmercury poisoning event continues to affect people in Minamata Bay Research varies, but as well as Minamata disease affecting people who ate the fish directly, findings suggest that fetuses started developing the condition while still in the uterus people thought the placenta would protect them Still, as babies were born with conditions resembling cerebral palsy researchers have now firmly established the idea that methylmercury poisoning can transmit through the placenta human activities over the past few decades have caused mercury levels to rise by approximately 450% over their natural levels it is increasingly important to take action to reduce mercury poisoning and minimize pollution going into water bodies and the rest of the environment Below are answers to frequently asked questions on Minamata disease Mercury and mercury-component poisoning still exist monitoring has improved since the start of the Minamata Convention on Mercury In and around Minamata Bay, people continue to experience the aftereffects of the original epidemic Some symptoms of Minamata disease are curable, but it depends on how much exposure the person has had to mercury. Symptoms that result from neurological implications are not reversible Symptoms start as a sensory disturbance but can be extremely physically and mentally painful The original case in Minamata Bay received official recognition in 1968, four months after the factory stopped producing mercury compounds This was 12 years after the start of the epidemic Minamata disease refers to a tragic event where people in the coastal community of Minamata Bay developed severe neurological disorders following exposure to methylmercury The event resulted from the industrial release of mercury compounds into the local water The fish and shellfish consumed these compounds thereby compromising the local food supply other communities have experienced forms of Minamata disease where pollutants have caused mercury contamination Despite events such as the Minamata outbreak with contaminants entering the water and atmosphere and A more sustainable future will reduce these toxins and improve human health The Minamata Convention on Mercury, a global treaty designed to protect human health and the environment from the adverse effects of mercury, has released the Minamata Convention Progress Report 2022 on its latest developments The 2022 overview includes outcomes from the fourth meeting of the Conference of the Parties (COP-4) as well as the inter-sessional work towards COP-5 collaborations and preparations take place before and after our COPs and this publication aims to illustrate a small but significant part of this,” said Monika Stankiewicz Executive Secretary of the Minamata Convention on Mercury One of the major achievements highlighted in the report is the amendment of the Convention to ban eight additional mercury-added products further reducing demand for mercury on the market and result in less mercury waste The report also covers the creation of a new open-ended scientific group by COP-4 which operating with unprecedented transparency and inclusiveness will provide comparable data on the presence and movement of mercury in the environment Another highlight is the impressive rate of over 90% of Parties who submitted to the Secretariat their first full national reports on the implementation of the Convention This national reporting provides an increasingly clear picture of the specific needs of each of the Parties and the challenges they face This overview of 2022 also emphasizes the initial steps towards the first evaluation of the effectiveness of the Convention and the expanding cooperation between the secretariats of the Multilateral Environmental Agreements These fruitful collaborations across fields such as gender biodiversity and knowledge management provide a glimpse of what has been achieved and what can be accomplished together through the Minamata Convention Delegates from all over the world will gather in Geneva for the next meeting of the Conference of the Parties For more information on past and upcoming activities, please visit the Minamata Convention website Your browser does not support JavaScript, or it is disabled．Please check the site policy for more information National Report Kagoshima Prefecture--The environment minister dashed the hopes of uncertified Minamata disease patients by saying the government has no plans to review standards for recognizing sufferers of the mercury poisoning case Shintaro Ito met with Minamata disease patients in Kumamoto and Kagoshima prefectures on July 8 10 and 11 in a trip arranged after his ministry came under fire for cutting short a previous gathering by interrupting patients He sat with representatives of eight organizations of Minamata disease patients for a total of approximately 20 hours over the three days “This is the first time that an incumbent minister has talked with people involved in the Minamata disease for such a long time,” Ito said Each of the eight organizations was given only three minutes to speak A furor erupted after it emerged that a ministry official turned off the microphone even while patients were still speaking Ito visited Shishijima island in Kagoshima Prefecture and Goshourajima island in Kumamoto Prefecture to hear first-hand about the situation of patients who live on remote islands Ito said his ministry will consider a request for raising a monthly transportation allowance of 1,000 yen ($6.19) for patients visiting a hospital on the mainland He also said his ministry plans to cooperate in preserving information materials on the neurological disease caused by industrial wastewater containing mercury that was discharged into Minamata Bay in Kumamoto Prefecture Ito listened sincerely to what patients had to say But they were left empty-handed on key demands such as a review of government standards for recognizing Minamata disease patients Many people have their applications rejected for recognition as Minamata disease patients even though they have symptoms of mercury poisoning This is because the government clings to a strict rule that requires a combination of symptoms for certification as a patient Ito repeated the government’s position in meetings with the patients’ organizations “The current certification standards have not been rejected in a past Supreme Court decision,” he noted Some members of the organizations said Ito offered nothing new concerning their key demands Yoichi Tani of the Collaboration Center for Minamata Disease Victims who has supported patients in lawsuits and other areas for more than 50 years said patients face tough negotiations on major issues such as a review of the government standards “There are so many mountains to cross,” said Tani The environment ministry will hold meetings with the patients’ organizations in July and August to discuss issues that require budgetary allocations While patients also called for increasing medical treatment allowances they are paid based on a Cabinet decision on the law concerning relief of Minamata disease victims “The bar is high because an expansion requires a new Cabinet decision,” a senior ministry official said Ito is scheduled to meet with patients of the Niigata Minamata disease (This article was compiled from reports by Kenji Imamura Memorial adopts anonymous plate for all Minamata disease victims EDITORIAL: Many Minamata disease victims still waiting for overdue relief Plaintiffs finally win recognition as Minamata disease victims Court blocks bid by 7 for Minamata disease recognition Court backs those not covered by Minamata disease relief law Information on the latest cherry blossom conditions Please right click to use your browser’s translation function.) A series based on diplomatic documents declassified by Japan’s Foreign Ministry Here is a collection of first-hand accounts by “hibakusha” atomic bomb survivors chefs and others involved in the field of food introduce their special recipes intertwined with their paths in life A series about Japanese-Americans and their memories of World War II In-house News and Messages No reproduction or republication without written permission Depp plays real-life US photojournalist W Eugene Smith who travels to cover the story of mercury poisoning that caused horrendous disfigurements he has chosen a role in which he wears a hat indoors an old-fashioned “issue picture” with a worthwhile story to tell about how communities can stand up to overweening corporations and how journalists dedicated to truthful news can help them Depp plays real-life US photojournalist W Eugene Smith whose glory days were in the second world war and the decades following working for Life magazine in that now-forgotten era when analogue cameras were incapable of lying and magazines with compelling photos could command newsstand sales The drama finds him in his declining years, drunk, depressed, impossible to work with – and of course ripe for Hollywood-style redemption. Apparently by chance, he finds himself befriended by Japanese-American Aileen (Minami Hinase) who alerts him to an environmental atrocity in Japan that he could do something about if he chose to rouse himself from his grumpy self-indulgent ennui In the coastal town of Minamata on Japan’s south-western coast the Chisso corporation has been dumping mercury waste into the water which is poisoning the fish and then the humans who eat them – causing horrendous disfigurements in men Smith finds a community who treat him with respect and politeness though some are suspicious of a brash foreigner who may simply make things worse and alienate a powerful employer that could turn against making any settlement Of course, the hard-nosed professional in Smith knows that pictures of sick children, carefully and tactfully managed, are going to deliver the biggest punch and he became famous for a picture that heartbroken and intensely private parents were at first reluctant to give him: Tomoko Uemura in Her Bath the Pietà-esque black and white photograph of a mother cradling her sick daughter in a traditional Japanese tub Director Andrew Levitas gives us a context-free glimpse of this challenging image at the beginning of the film and builds to its eventful composition as his emotional finale Perhaps these are the microcosmic crimes and our fossil-fuel use is the larger Minamata is a decent reminder of what is still to be done Ibrahim Nyei and EPA Executive Director Dr Emmanuel Yarkpawolo represented Liberia at the signing ceremony represented by the Environmental Protection Agency is pleased to announce the formal ratification of the Minamata Convention on Mercury The ratification was officially deposited on September 24 during a significant treaty event in New York Liberia became the 150th party to the convention aligning with 149 other nations in a collective pledge to combat the threats associated with mercury pollution is a silvery-white metal that is liquid at room temperature and evaporates easily into the atmosphere which occurs in various forms including elemental poses severe health and environmental risks Mercury is released into the air mainly through human activities such as the burning of fossil fuels artisanal and small-scale gold mining (ASGM) and improper disposal of mercury-containing products The ratification of the Minamata Convention provides several key advantages for Liberia: First it provides Enhanced Public Health Protections Participation in this global effort will help safeguard Liberians from the harmful effects of mercury exposure Liberia will be eligible for international financial and technical assistance under the Convention which includes support for capacity building and the implementation of mercury management strategies aligning with the Minamata Convention strengthens Liberia’s commitment to achieving various SDGs with the obligation to implement the Convention’s provisions Liberia will undertake the necessary legal and regulatory reforms to better manage mercury and mercury-added products within the country Ratification will facilitate research into mercury-free alternatives and improve data collection on mercury usage and distribution The World Health Organization recognizes mercury as one of the top ten chemicals posing significant public health concerns can result in serious health issues: impaired neurological development especially affecting vulnerable groups such as children and pregnant women The Minamata Convention was established to address and mitigate the significant risk posed by mercury and its compounds Named after the Japanese coastal town where industrial mercury pollution led to severe health crises in the mid-20th century the convention aims to safeguard human health and the environment from anthropogenic emissions and releases of mercury Key Highlights of the Minamata Convention: Ban on New Mercury Mines: Prohibiting the opening of new mercury mines and phasing out existing operations Regulation of Mercury Use: Gradual phase-out and phase-down of mercury utilization in several products and processes Control Measures: Implementing strict measures on emissions to air and halting features that result in releases to land and water Artisanal Mining Regulations: Addressing the informal sector The Minamata Convention was initially agreed upon in January 2013 in Geneva and later adopted at a diplomatic conference in Kumamoto Liberia’s journey towards ratification began on September 24 when the country signed the Minamata Convention Recognizing the significant threats posed by mercury under the leadership of the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) actively engaged in global initiatives to address mercury pollution “Today marks a crucial moment for our nation Liberia reinforces its commitment to safeguard the health of its citizens and the environment This isn’t just a symbolic gesture; it’s a pledge to take action and collaborate with the international community in the fight against mercury pollution,” emphasized Dr Liberia currently lacks a comprehensive mercury inventory with a limited understanding of mercury stocks many mercury-related projects have yet to be implemented and an effective regulatory framework is not yet in place The Government of Liberia recognizes these gaps and is committed to the development of effective policies to integrate mercury management into the nation’s sustainable development planning Regular consultation with stakeholders and the public will be essential as we move forward to address these critical issues The Government of Liberia invites all citizens and international partners to join in this critical fight against mercury pollution and more sustainable future for all Liberians Your browser is out of date and potentially vulnerable to security risks.We recommend switching to one of the following browsers: Please enable JS and disable any ad blocker In early June, the Secretariat of Minamata Convention on Mercury traveled to the Philippines for a week-long knowledge exchange on mercury-free practices “One goal for our work is to ensure that all the measures and all the actions we take actually have a lasting effect" A major driver of mercury demand is its use in artisanal and small-scale gold mining one of the main contributors of human-induced mercury pollution Approximately 2,000 tonnes of mercury are released into the environment from artisanal and small-scale gold mining every year "It has been very revealing to visit several sites and talk to the miners and Indigenous Peoples' communities One takeaway for me is how important it is to have appropriate national provincial and local regulatory frameworks" As the global community continues to combat mercury pollution insights from the Philippines visit highlight the ongoing need to translate plans into sustainable The success of these efforts will depend on the capacity to tailor strategies to diverse contexts and needs, National Action Plans will play a key role in shaping these efforts on the ground Watch our special video covering the Secretariat of the Minamata Convention's visit to the Philippines from 2 to 9 June The fifth meeting of the Conference of the Parties to the Minamata Convention on Mercury (COP5) took place in Geneva The GEF is part of the financial mechanism to the Minamata Convention See the story and video below to learn more about the Minamata Convention and the celebration of its 10 year anniversary on October 10 co-organized by the Global Environment Facility and United Nations Environment Programme seeks to question the promotion and normalization of skin lightening and confront the perpetuation of harmful cultural norms Download this interactive map to view details on GEF-supported mercury projects The two largest programs receiving GEF support in the fight to safely and sustainably manage hazardous chemicals and waste are ISLANDS and planetGOLD ISLANDS: The Implementing Sustainable Low and Non-Chemical Development in Small Island Developing States (ISLANDS) program is supporting 33 island nations in the Atlantic and Pacific regions to improve chemicals and waste management planetGOLD: The planetGOLD program works in partnership with governments and artisanal and small-scale gold mining communities to significantly improve the production practices and work environment of artisanal and small-scale miners These Tableau dashboards on Minamata Initial Assessments and National Action Plans provide detailed data at the region and country levels Minamata Initial Assessments Mercury Inventories: This dashboard allows you to explore data from national mercury inventories made with the UNEP Toolkit as part of Minamata Initial Assessments Data are aggregated by region and country names are hidden for confidentiality ASGM National Action Plans: Data from artisanal and small-scale gold mining National Action Plans completed for the Minamata Convention on Mercury © 2025 Global Environment Facility, All Rights Reserved. | Legal Are you okay to go to such a place as a bride?” by showing people around the world what victims can do and achieve The Minamata Convention on Mercury is a global treaty to protect human health and the environment from the adverse effects of mercury The overall goal of the UNEP Global Mercury Partnership is to protect human health and the environment from the releases of mercury Japan's environment minister apologized Wednesday after his officials interrupted remarks by some victims of the Minamata mercury-poisoning disease by muting their microphones at a meeting in Kumamoto Prefecture last week "I sincerely apologize from the bottom of my heart said while meeting with victims in Minamata in the country's southwest director of the ministry's Special Environmental Diseases Office and moderator of the meeting also offered an apology following a press conference held earlier in the day in Minamata by a victims' group The act "was very inappropriate and hurtful," he acknowledged During the May 1 meeting between the minister and representatives of eight Minamata sufferers' groups a ministry official switched off the microphones of two participants after their allotted three minutes for speaking had passed It caused an uproar and prompted the groups to protest and demand an apology from the minister Some opposition lawmakers urged Prime Minister Fumio Kishida to sack Ito But Kishida told reporters at his office in Tokyo "I would like the minister to continue to fulfill his responsibilities including providing careful and considerate support to all those involved to address issues related to Minamata disease." The opposition camp criticized Kishida as he was elected president of the ruling Liberal Democratic Party and became the prime minister in October 2021 What the opposition bloc calls a blunder by the environment ministry could deal another blow to Kishida's Cabinet its approval ratings have plunged to their lowest levels due to a political funds scandal that has eroded public trust in politics During questioning by the Constitutional Democratic Party of Japan on Wednesday another environment ministry official said they were taught to turn off microphones after three minutes if discussions became heated but had never actually done so in practice Ito expressed a desire to review the time limit policy given that "it is difficult to understand the situation within three minutes." which is traced to mercury-tainted water dumped into the sea by a Chisso Corp was formally acknowledged by local health authorities in 1956 The illness paralyzes the central nervous system and also causes congenital abnormalities While the government's relief steps have been enforced legal battles continue for unrecognized sufferers left out of the measures Japan court rejects redress claims by unrecognized Minamata victims On the International Day for the Elimination of Racial Discrimination the Minamata Convention on Mercury highlights the urgent need to address the harmful effects of skin-lightening mercury-containing products Using cosmetics to lighten skin tone has deep historical roots people with lighter skin colour are still perceived as having a higher social status in many parts of the world today While some individuals use these products to address skin imperfections such as freckles and blemishes many others use them to alter their skin colour Consumers may not realize that these products often contain a cocktail of harmful chemicals The World Health Organization warns that mercury a common ingredient in many skin-lightening products Mercury exposure can result in kidney damage and young children are particularly vulnerable to its harmful effects To combat the use of mercury in cosmetics globally, the Conference of the Parties to the Minamata Convention on Mercury (COP-5) amended the Convention text to explicitly ban manufacture "This new international requirement on cosmetics is an example of how we can proactively be anti-racists and contribute to addressing structural racism that is still prevailing in our societies," says Monika Stankiewicz Minamata Convention Executive Secretary and Alternate Anti-racism Advocate for the UN Environment Programme (UNEP) “The work under the Minamata Convention and UNEP will not stop here and we will now focus on supporting countries to put the new rule into practice.” On the same occasion of COP-5, the Global Environment Facility and UNEP organized a special event questioning the normalization of skin-lightening practices and confronting the perpetuation of harmful cultural norms UNEP is also leading the project Eliminating Mercury Skin Lightening Products to eradicate mercury-containing This initiative supports government legislation to ban mercury-added products in line with the Minamata Convention and raises awareness of the risks associated with these products Additionally, the UNEP Global Mercury Partnership Secretariat invites stakeholders and experts to express their interest in joining the community of practice to eliminate mercury-containing the international community took a key step forward by signing the Minamata Convention on Mercury named after the bay in Japan where mercury-tainted industrial wastewater poisoned thousands of people in the mid-20th century the Minamata Convention plays a crucial role in helping countries control and eliminate mercury across all its life stages former Chair of the Intergovernmental Negotiating Committee on Mercury recalled that during the convention’s negotiation phase “We heard the voices of the Minamata victims we got to see what the Minamata disease is in our eyes and we committed to develop an instrument of a global importance that could really provide solutions.” “Minamata changed the way we think about mercury pollution,” remembered Carlos Manuel Rodriguez CEO and Chairperson of the Global Environment Facility one of the two financial mechanisms of the Convention that they have a say,” said Monika Stankiewicz Executive Secretary of the Minamata Convention “As we move forward to make mercury history,” she added ”I hope to see more countries joining the Convention in the near future.” the Minamata Convention has achieved milestones such as banning new mercury mines extending the list of products and processes not to be manufactured and establishing controls on emissions and releases “Our journey is not over,” said Claudia Dumitru President of the fifth meeting of the Conference of the Parties to the Minamata Convention (COP-5) ”There are crucial tasks ahead and we must remain dedicated to meeting established deadlines on various fronts.” “We at UNEP are proud to host the Secretariat for this Minamata Convention which protects the environment and human health from the pernicious impacts of this dangerous neurotoxin,” stated Inger Andersen UN Environment Programme (UNEP) Executive Director COP-5 will take place from 30 October to 3 November in Geneva This makes it difficult to imagine ministry officials implementing sensible policies It is only natural therefore for patients and other victims of Minamata disease to feel distrustful. [Minamata disease is a neurological disease caused by poisoning from methyl mercury Environmental waste containing it was released near Minamata town in Kyushu by Nippon Chisso Hiryo Co from 1932 to 1968.] Recently Minister of the Environment Shintaro Ito met with a group of Minamata disease patients and victims in Kyushu His purpose was supposedly to directly understand their opinions and feelings during the meeting ministry officials prevented participants from speaking longer than three minutes each Officials even cut off the sound of their microphones when they went over the time limit That was a rough and violent way to treat those they were there to listen to It was a "consultative meeting" in name only And we have to suspect that from the start ministry officials had no intention of giving the attendees a fair hearing. an environment ministry spokesperson explained "That's how things have been done in the past." If that is true the ministry should issue retroactive apologies for all the times it has treated people so poorly. The meeting in question took place in Minamata City in Kumamoto Prefecture on May 1 It followed a memorial service for victims of the Minamata disease Minamata disease victims from eight groups attended along with Ito and other environment ministry officials. The ministry only allowed each of the eight groups only three minutes On two occasions the microphone sound was cut off when the allotted three minutes expired even though the group representative was still speaking Officials also took back the microphone from the speaker A more outlandish way of dealing with the situation is hard to imagine speakers cannot be allowed to go on as long as they like three minutes is too short to say much of anything. On May 7, Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshimasa Hayashi told reporters: "Meetings like that provide an important opportunity to carefully listen to the opinions of involved parties it cannot be said that things were managed appropriately in this instance at a May 8 Lower House Cabinet Committee meeting Hayashi read a public apology on behalf of the government. Minister Ito also harshly reprimanded the vice minister of the environment ministry and the director of the Environmental Health Department "Minamata disease is the reason why we now have a Ministry of the Environment," he told them He visited Minamata City on the same day and personally apologized to the two speakers who had been cut off. Ministry officials have also given the impression that they were trying to cover the agency’s tracks in this affair. "I wasn't aware that the mic had been cut off." However so he must have realized the sound had been cut off Letting career bureaucrats handle all the particulars is hardly fulfilling his responsibility as a Cabinet minister. It has already been 68 years since Minamata disease was officially recognized there are still multiple lawsuits pending seeking compensation from the government that have yet to be resolved. The environment agency should hold another meeting to make up for the fiasco And at all times officials should bear in mind the importance of real dialogue when implementing policies. (Read the editorial in Japanese.) Author: Editorial Board, The Sankei Shimbun You must be logged in to post a comment ' + scriptOptions._localizedStrings.webview_notification_text + ' " + scriptOptions._localizedStrings.redirect_overlay_title + " " + scriptOptions._localizedStrings.redirect_overlay_text + " A Japanese district court on Thursday ordered a chemical maker to pay 4 million yen ($26,000) each to 26 unrecognized sufferers of the Minamata mercury-poisoning disease while dismissing claims against the Japanese government The Niigata District Court recognized that 26 of the 47 plaintiffs in the lawsuit who were not eligible for relief payments under a special law that went into force in 2009 The plaintiffs had sought 8.8 million yen each in damages against the state and the chemical company responsible for the mercury contamination in Niigata Prefecture The ruling is the third of its kind among similar lawsuits filed with four district courts in the country the Osaka District Court granted compensation to all plaintiffs while the Kumamoto District Court denied compensation claims Presiding Judge Norio Shimamura ruled in favor of the 26 plaintiffs saying that their symptoms and levels of exposure to methylmercury indicate a high likelihood that they had contracted Minamata disease Shimamura said it was difficult to conclude that the government could have predicted any specific health damage to local residents from the discharge of organic methylmercury from the company's factory "I cannot say that there was any illegality under the state redress law," the judge said Backed by medical certificates from local doctors the 47 plaintiffs claimed they experienced typical symptoms of Minamata disease after eating fish from the Agano River contaminated by mercury from a Showa Denko factory They also criticized the government's failure to regulate the discharge of wastewater and the ending of relief applications under the 2009 special measures law in about two years The government has countered that it was unlikely people consumed a significant amount of fish from the Agano River after the official recognition of Niigata Minamata disease in May 1965 arguing the symptoms could have been caused by other factors The disease was first formally acknowledged in 1956 in Minamata where mercury-tainted water had been dumped into the sea by a Chisso Corp The illness paralyzes the central nervous system and causes birth defects but legal battles have continued for sufferers who have been left out of the measures the environment ministry said it will continue to follow the pollution-related health damage compensation law to help improve medical and welfare services in affected areas The government has also maintained that the 20-year statute of limitations for damage claims has expired Thursday's ruling addressed the first 47 of 149 plaintiffs in Niigata Prefecture a similar trial is underway at the Tokyo District Court with a total of over 1,700 plaintiffs involved in the lawsuits at the four courts Anti-mercury pollution treaty eyes ban on fluorescent tubes by 2027 Japan couple urges fight against mercury at Minamata treaty meeting Jun (not his real name) took the time to entertain visitors at his small-scale gold mining facility as it usually is at the facility which operates 24/7 but Jun didn’t mind taking some time off to show the visitors around “It’s okay since we don’t always have visitors here,” he said reassuringly Amidst the loud and persistent rumbling and clanking of mills crushing ores he tried to explain the cost of their operation “We spend Php 100,000 per month on calamansi alone,” he shared which would explain the stench permeating throughout the area He further revealed that they spend about 1 million pesos per month on electricity and buy 40 kilogrammes of mercury One would wonder how much gold this operation extracts in a month with such high operational costs which don’t yet include the salaries of nearly 100 workers But that was not the main purpose of the visitors the amount of mercury being used in the mining facility is what the visiting team from the environmental NGO BAN Toxics was primarily after BAN Toxics has been at the forefront of the campaign to eliminate mercury and mercury compounds for more than a decade The group is one of the first NGOs to work closely with artisanal small-scale gold mining (ASGM) communities which previous studies have revealed to be the largest source of mercury emissions in the country Jun’s mining operation is just one of about 25 other facilities in the barangay It is an open secret that mercury use in ASGM operations in Jose Panganiban and the nearby mining towns of Paracale and Labo continues to this day the majority of ASGM facilities all over the country use mercury in their operations Mercury is used in mining to capture gold from milled ores different amounts of calamansi juice and one Gatorade bottle cap of mercury which contains 1 to 1.5 sacks of crushed ore the drums are washed with a pressurised hose and a slurry of the mercury-containing gold sediments is collected the slurry undergoes panning and is washed a couple more times to remove impurities The slurry is then filtered through a small piece of cloth that is squeezed to isolate the gold-mercury amalgam The amalgamation process is repeated on the remaining slurry to capture more gold while the remaining mercury is recovered and reused all of the acquired gold-mercury amalgam will be smelted in the same facility This process releases mercury into the air It is a neurotoxin that can cause irreparable damage to the nervous system Prolonged exposure to mercury may also harm the eyes and developing fetuses are particularly vulnerable to its harmful developmental effects which means it will forever persist in the environment It can accumulate in living organisms and biomagnify in the food chain Releases and emissions of mercury can therefore contaminate entire ecosystems Mercury use in ASGM is strictly prohibited under the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) Administrative Order 2019-20 (DAO 2019-20) as well as the Minamata Convention on Mercury the Philippine government ratified the Minamata Convention the first legally binding global treaty designed to protect human health and the environment from man-made emissions of mercury and mercury compounds The Convention was named after the mercury contamination in Minamata Bay which resulted in an epidemic among residents around the bay of what is now known as Minamata disease Over two thousand people died in the tragedy while thousands more experienced crippling injuries The Convention’s provisions address the entire life cycle of mercury including controls and reductions across a range of products mercury-use in Camarines Norte remains widespread BAN Toxics published a study which assessed the factors contributing to the continued use of mercury in the ASGM Titled “Illicit Mercury Flows and Governance Practices in Mindanao Philippines,” the study identified the poverty-driven nature of ASGM and the lack of government support as the primary reasons The paper states: “The majority of small-scale miners in the Philippines are engaged in subsistence mining As much as 75% of the total ASGM population barely earn enough for the day’s needs miners usually only earn enough to buy food miners and their families will be left with no money to purchase food they are left with no choice but to accrue significant debts to provide for their families.” adviser to the Samahang Magkakabod ng Camarines Norte (SAMACANO) the provincial federation of small-scale miners while there are existing mercury alternatives to capturing gold the subsistence nature of the sector discourages them from using such methods “Alternatives like cyanidation are time-consuming It is not viable for miners to wait days or months to accumulate the required volume of ores to be able to process via these (cyanide) plants,” Galvez said Cyanidation is one of the mercury-free alternatives available right now for gold extraction cyanide does not persist in the environment author of the aforementioned study and BAN Toxics Policy Development and Research Officer cites that insufficient support from the government also translates to the lack of opportunities for miners to access safer technologies with the majority of mining communities in the country operating illegally miners have little or no access to basic social services and are victimised by corruption and extortion which further contributes to the cycle of poverty,” Lorenzo adds BAN Toxics advocates for the formalisation of the ASGM sector seeing it as an essential step toward proper government support and accessible mercury-free technology Formalization means miners are licensed to operate within a declared “Minahang Bayan” or People’s Small-Scale Mining Area This requires small-scale miners to follow environmentally responsible practices establish committees to oversee operations and provide livelihoods while protecting the environment “But the approval of Minahang Bayan itself is extremely challenging due to the exorbitant costs of mining applications adding that a mining contract typically requires approximately 1 million pesos to meet the stringent requirements set by the DENR-Mines and Geosciences Bureau (DENR-MGB) Based on the latest Mining Industry Statistics released on March 11 there are currently 58 approved and registered Minahang Bayan and 167 ongoing applications nationwide there are three registered and 32 pending Minahang Bayan applications One mining association in Jose Panganiban has yet to get their Minahang Bayan permit and small-scale mining contract despite having spent over 5 million pesos since 2014 Lorenzo noted that formalization should go hand-in-hand with other programs addressing poverty and other social services as well as enforcement of laws and regulations especially on the entry of illegal mercury and mercury-added products in the country Lorenzo pointed out that since the Palawan Quicksilver Mines closed in 1976 there have been no mercury mining operations in the country “Evidence indicates that mercury in the Philippines comes from neighboring countries like China entering the country through both illegal and legal channels.” Galvez meanwhile remarked that while there are suppliers of mercury in ASGM communities those selling mercury are known personalities and persons of authority in the communities.” Article 3 of the Minamata Convention does not allow the import of mercury without government consent ensuring that both the mercury source and proposed use comply with the Convention and applicable domestic law “Addressing the transboundary trade of mercury remains a significant challenge for the country not just in ASGM but also with other mercury products BAN Toxics monitors the continued entry of imported mercury-containing beauty products which are sold cheaply in both online and physical stores,” Lorenzo said Galvez held a workshop on mercury toxicity for new officers and members of SAMACANO and Department of Labour and Employment (DOLE) labour inspectors in Daet Galvez said that despite the persistence of mercury-use in Camarines Norte what’s changed now is the level of awareness in communities with regards to mercury “They are more aware now on the need to eliminate mercury But they are really just looking for alternatives that will still meet the needs of the miners.” spoke at the workshop about gravity concentration method a mercury-free alternative to capturing gold that they use in their operations in Brgy Gravity concentration is a natural method of separating gold from milled ores by sluicing and skilled panning using a metal pan flat-bottomed troughs lined with a trapping mechanism to capture gold particles this method has a gold recovery rate of 75% to 90% Jun and other mining financiers who still use mercury expressed interest in being trained in the gravity concentration method Persia said that as much as they want to train everyone on their method “The government should go to the miners directly and train them in mercury-free (alternatives)” The workshop is part of a series of activities in preparation for the upcoming 5th National Assembly of the National Coalition of Small-Scale Miners in the Philippines NCSSMPI was founded in 2016 after the 4th National ASGM Mining Summit hosted by BAN Toxics with the goal of promoting responsible small-scale mining including sustainable mercury-free methods the NCCSMPI has more than 40 small-scale mining associations from across the country as its members with BAN Toxics serving as the secretariat One of the main goals of the 5th Assembly is updating proposed amendments to RA 7076 the “People’s Small-Scale Mining Act of 1991,” and the National Action Plan for Small-Scale Miners the 33-year-old RA 7076 is outdated and in need of amendment that would “strengthen the provisions on the prohibition on the use of mercury by providing adequate economic and institutional support to miners that encourage the shift to mercury-free technologies and protects them from exploitation and abuse from stakeholders who benefit from the illicit mercury trade.” The proposed amendment also includes streamlining the application process for the declaration of Minahang Bayan areas and approval of small-scale mining contracts “It is our hope that the 5th Assembly will further strengthen the Coalition and drive small-scale miners forward to a mercury-free future,” Lorenzo concluded BAN Toxics is working on other projects related to mercury including continuous market monitoring of mercury-added products research on the mercury material flow in the country and the Philippine Healthcare and Mercury Wastes Management Project which plans to assess the status of mercury-containing medical devices and assist in their final disposal Jun continues to find the risk of using mercury worth its weight in gold Please note that new languages are added on a regular basis to publications listed in the Annotated Bibliography Click on the publication link in the Annotated Bibliography to see what languages are available A text parser? Typing in “Open drawer,” then “Look in drawer,” then “Take brochures,” in the year 2024, on a computer that can generate a 4K 3D model of the Acropolis if I ask it to? Is that really what The Crimson Diamond asks of us Yes, it is, and solo developer/writer/producer Julia Minamata is right to ask it. If you have text-prompt adventures from the likes of Sierra in your mental library (like, say, The Colonel's Bequest) or if you’re willing to meet the parser halfway The Crimson Diamond’s parser is fairly agile accepting a range of nouns and verbs in most circumstances You can still use arrow keys and a mouse to move and click a few useful shortcuts like typing “n” to look at your quest-tracking notebook or “o d” or “o c” for the very common actions of opening a door or cabinet There are a lot of cabinets and drawers in this game because it’s set in northern Ontario a junior geologist eager for some field work sent by your museum to the mining town of Crimson to investigate a diamond that fell out of a river fish’s guts and you’re on your own to investigate this town a crime that may or may not have to do with potential diamonds and it evokes some of my earliest pre-Maniac-Mansion adventure game memories I also have not played the game to completion I will not be taking a critical gem loupe to it; I just think more people need to know about it and her major complaint is almost a throwback: a few puzzles with obscure solutions entirely too easy to miss with text parsing and EGA graphics I’m eager to see where Nancy Maple’s journey takes her even if I have to sometimes rack my brain for the right text to do the obvious thing The game so far has felt like spending time inside one of those non-violent mysteries you see on PBS (or CBC) just inside a familiar and evocative game form This website is using a security service to protect itself from online attacks The action you just performed triggered the security solution There are several actions that could trigger this block including submitting a certain word or phrase You can email the site owner to let them know you were blocked Please include what you were doing when this page came up and the Cloudflare Ray ID found at the bottom of this page Minamata disease is known in Japan as one of the four environmental disasters that helped turned the tide against rampant industrial pollution in the 1960s and 1970s is the critical role played by the great American photojournalist W Eugene Smith (1918–78) in alerting the world to the plight of Minamata’s victims and the ravages of pollution We compiled this homage to Smith and his work in Minamata (the subject of an upcoming film starring Johnny Depp) with the help of Japanese photographer Ishikawa Takeshi who worked as Smith’s close assistant in Minamata for a period of three years Eugene Smith achieved fame as a war photographer in World War II He accompanied the US Marines in their island-hopping offensive against Japan in the Pacific depicting American troops and Japanese prisoners in Saipan he was seriously wounded by mortar fire while photographing the Battle of Okinawa and returned home to receive intensive medical care undergoing 32 operations over a period of two years Smith worked for the hugely popular photo magazine Life which boasted a circulation of 7 million at its peak he produced a series of groundbreaking photo essays—including Country Doctor profiling Albert Schweitzer—distinguished by their deep humanism and sense of social commitment Eugene Smith was already in his fifties when he heard about the poisoning of Minamata a fishing and industrial community on the coast of Kumamoto Prefecture in southern Japan determined to tell its story through the medium of photojournalism Their photo essay “Death-Flow from a Pipe,” published in the June 2 revealed the plight of Minamata’s victims to countless readers in America and beyond Their 1975 book Minamata had an even broader impact Smith was awarded the 1974 Robert Capa Gold Medal for his work in the city A spread from Smith’s photo essay “Death-Flow from a Pipe” in Life magazine (left); the cover of Minamata by W For years an acetaldehyde plant operated by the chemical manufacturer Chisso had been releasing untreated wastewater contaminated with methylmercury into the waters around Minamata Mercury flowing into the bay accumulated in fish and shellfish that were then consumed by local inhabitants causing a wide range of neurological problems Particularly devastating were the cases of congenital Minamata disease in which methylmercury passed through the mother’s placenta and concentrated in the tissues of the fetus Minamata disease was first identified in 1956 mercury poisoning had been identified as the cause Chisso’s own in-house scientists confirmed the connection between the factory’s effluent and the neurological symptoms and continued to release toxic wastewater into the bay sacrificed at the altar of economic growth endured years of stigmatization and intimidation the government finally acknowledged Chisso’s responsibility opening a new chapter in the victims’ quest for justice But their legal and bureaucratic battles had only begun Just over 2,000 (Chisso) Minamata disease patients have been certified to date these numbers do not include afflicted individuals who died before they could be certified or who chose not to apply Eugene Smith arrived in Minamata with his wife Aileen Mioko Smith in September 1971 Photographer Ishikawa Takeshi was a witness to their work living and working with the Smiths in Minamata for a period of three years. Ishikawa’s meeting with Smith in 1971 was serendipitous Ishikawa was living in the Harajuku neighborhood of Tokyo when he caught sight of Smith whom he recognized from his photography textbook Ishikawa had just been to a solo exhibition of Smith’s work “Let Truth Be the Prejudice,” and had been deeply impressed He screwed up the courage to approach the world-famous photojournalist introducing himself as an aspiring photographer Little did he imagine that he would end up spending the next three years assisting Smith in Minamata “Everything I consider important in life I learned from Eugene,” says Ishikawa That extends to Smith’s notion of photography as a “small voice” for social change “Back when I first ran into Eugene on the street my ambition was to make a living taking photographs I’m always asking myself what I can do [for humanity] as a photographer.” Eugene Smith photographing the Chisso chemical plant from the hills around Minamata in 1971 Eugene and his wife Aileen Mioko Smith in Minamata in 1972 Smith had never fully recovered from the old injury sustained in Okinawa Ishikawa recalls that his diet in Minamata was limited to soft foods—including a daily regimen of 10 or so 200-milliliter bottles of milk and one 640-millileter bottle of Suntory whisky which Ishikawa believes helped ease his chronic pain Smith’s physical condition worsened after 1972 He was accompanying a group of plaintiffs to an appointment with a Chisso executive in Ichihara when they were confronted by a mob of hostile factory workers nerve pain made it difficult for him to use his camera but he continued to work in Minamata until November 1974 when he returned to the United States to complete the book he took a teaching job at the University of Arizona He died of a stroke in Tucson in October 1978 at the age of 59 Eugene Smith in 1974 drinking whisky out of a teacup from a sushi shop Ishikawa stayed in touch with the Minamata victims and their families and his own work from the three years he spent with the Smiths remained unpublished Ishikawa attended a 30-year memorial service for Smith in Kyoto but Ishikawa was surprised to find that he was one of only a handful who had actually known Eugene in Japan He felt inspired to commemorate and relive Smith’s interaction with the people of Minamata and to see for himself how the city and its residents had changed That was when he began revisiting and rephotographing the community “I embarked on a quest to retrace Eugene’s footsteps and the roots of my own work,” says Ishikawa Reclamation and construction had obliterated the evidence of Chisso’s crimes Some of Smith’s subjects were no longer living But Ishikawa was deeply gratified by his reception in Minamata “They all remembered me,” he says “I began to feel a need to take up where Eugene had left off as a witness to the anguish and hardship of the victims.” In 2012 Ishikawa published a collection titled Minamata Note (1971– 2012) consisting of his own previously unpublished photos from the 1970s paired (where possible) with recent shots of the same people and places One of the victims Ishikawa immediately sought out was Smith’s beloved Tanaka Jitsuko had became seriously disabled as a toddler as a result of mercury poisoning Smith took hundreds of photos of this blooming young woman deprived of the capacity to talk and he lamented his failure to capture Jitsuko’s fleeting expressions or her inner despair the great man “wept like a child” in Ishikawa’s presence Ishikawa published his own portraits of Jitsuko “then and now.” Tanaka Jitsuko (18) with her mother in 1971 Tanaka Jitsuko in 2018 Today she resides with her elderly sister and brother-in-law and receives round-the-clock nursing care The helmet is to protect her head from falls On the other hand, Smith’s most famous subject, Kamimura Tomoko, had long since succumbed to the disease. Tomoko had been exposed to mercury in utero and was born with severe deformities and neurological damage. She was 15 when Smith immortalized her in his iconic Minamata photo, Tomoko and Mother in the Bath.(*1) It was from Tomoko’s mother Ryōko that Ishikawa first heard the term takarago “precious child.” Ryōko believed that Tomoko had absorbed the toxins ingested by her mother so that neither Ryōko nor her other six children suffered the effects of mercury poisoning Kamimura Tomoko (16) in 1973 she was officially diagnosed with congenital Minamata disease in November 1962 Sakamoto Shinobu (16) in 1972 She was 6 when she was diagnosed with congenital Minamata disease Sakamoto Shinobu in 2009 Minamata disease victims and childhood friends (from left) Kagata Kiyoko (19) Sakamoto Shinobu and Kagata Kiyoko near the same spot in Minamata 40 years later Kagata (right) is confined to a wheelchair Nagai Isamu (14) in 1973 he endured hours of grueling physical therapy Nagai Isamu in 2011 and he is now unable to move to or from his wheelchair without assistance Mercury contamination is no longer a social issue in Japan But mercury is still used in such processes as gold extraction in the developing world a United Nations treaty to control mercury emissions came into force The Minamata Convention on Mercury aims to protect the environment and human health from anthropogenic emissions and releases of mercury and prevent a repeat of the tragedy that took place in Minamata Minamata victim Sakamoto Shinobu spoke at the first Conference of the Parties to the Convention in Geneva “My condition has gotten worse,” she said “Minamata disease is by no means over Let us work together to abolish mercury pollution.” Photographed the victims of Minamata disease while working as an assistant to the late photojournalist W Published works include the photo collections Minamata Note (1971– 2012) and Indo no daisan sei—hijura (Hijra—India’s Third Sex) Banner photo: Eugene Smith photographing Minamata disease victim Tanaka Jitsuko in 1971 taken by Ishikawa Takeshi.) (*1) ^ Because the subjects’ surname was mistakenly recorded as Uemura the photo is sometimes referred to as Tomoko Uemura in Her Bath.—Ed A Japanese district court rejected Friday compensation claims by 144 unrecognized sufferers of the Minamata mercury-poisoning disease against the state and others The Kumamoto District Court recognized 25 of the plaintiffs who have not been eligible for relief payments under a special law citing the expiry of a 20-year statute of limitations for their damages claims The ruling contrasted with a judgment by a different court in a similar case that ordered payments to the plaintiffs after acknowledging them all as victims formally acknowledged by local health authorities since 1956 has been traced to mercury-tainted water dumped into an inland sea by a Chisso Corp who said they developed sensory disorders after eating fish from the sea They argued it was unjust they were not covered by the 2009 special measures law because of their age and residential records The law restricts the eligibility in principle to those born before 1969 -- a year after the government recognized Minamata disease as caused by industrial pollution and stopped water discharges -- and residents of nine designated areas in Kumamoto and neighboring Kagoshima prefectures It pays recognized victims a lump sum of 2.1 million yen ($13,900) Application for the relief measures closed in July 2012 around two years after the special law took effect raising concerns that many might have missed the deadline The defendants argued that the plaintiffs had not received mercury exposure significant enough to cause Minamata disease and that their symptoms could have been caused by something other than the condition They also noted the elapsing of the statute of limitations Friday's ruling marked the second among similar lawsuits filed at Tokyo Kumamoto and Niigata district courts by a total of over 1,700 plaintiffs handed down by the Osaka District Court in September 2023 Kumamoto Prefecture and Chisso to pay a total of 352 million yen in damages to 128 unrecognized sufferers of the Minamata disease prefecture and Chisso as well as some plaintiffs have appealed the ruling Japan court orders compensation to 128 unrecognized Minamata victims The Minamata Convention on Mercury is a global treaty to protect human health and the environment from the adverse effects of mercury It was agreed at the fifth session of the Intergovernmental Negotiating Committee in Geneva 19 January 2013.The Convention draws attention to a global and ubiquitous metal that has broad uses in everyday objects and is released to the atmosphere Controlling the anthropogenic releases of mercury throughout its lifecycle has been a key factor in shaping the obligations under the convention the Minamata Convention on Mercury – a global treaty to protect human health and the environment from anthropogenic emissions and releases of mercury and mercury compounds – came into force Mercury is a natural element: it is found in the Earth’s crust and naturally released through volcanic activity and weathering of rocks each with a varying degree of toxicity but all equally harmful the lungs and the immune system of all living beings Because exposure to mercury – even small amounts – may cause serious health problems the World Health Organization considers it one of the top ten chemicals of major public health concern Human activity contributes to the largest portion of mercury release as much as 9,000 tons of mercury are released into the atmosphere The largest source of mercury emissions is artisanal and small-scale gold mining non-ferrous metal production and cement production some batteries and dental fillings also contain mercury and mercury compounds Poisoning occurs most often by ingestion of contaminated fish and inhalation – liquid mercury Mercury has a long environmental shelf life and a global pathway This is why the international community chose a global response strategy to tackle the mercury problem throughout its entire life cycle The Minamata Convention limits mercury mining reduces the use of mercury in products and processes decreases and eliminates the use of mercury in gold mining controls mercury emissions into the air and water the number of parties to the Convention has doubled and many more countries are pledging their political and financial support to help reduce and eliminate the use of mercury and mercury compounds The Minamata Convention is named after the city of Minamata in Japan where local communities were poisoned by mercury-tainted industrial wastewater in the late 1950s and suffered crippling Through the Minamata Convention on Mercury the global community remembers the many lives already lost to mercury poisoning and commits to preventing similar catastrophes Menu Listen The composer shows off a mind for menacing tactile music which meshes the oceanic-winded scale of the elements With 232 pages and an expanded 12″ by 12″ format our biggest print issue yet celebrates the people and Phoebe Bridgers’ Saddest Factory Records the sophomore album from the endearing Brighton duo is a jolt of punk-rock beauty The NYC-based project’s second album delights in its confident sense of chaos with vocalist Cole Haden knowing full well there’s no way we’re going to avert our gaze for a single moment Channeling Ziggy Stardust’s glam transcendence Will Toledo resurrects the album as a grandiose narrative vehicle while marking his valiant stride into the rock canon Though the final track contains every trick in Sakamoto’s kit bag and pulls from his electronic dance past (its thumping, sequenced rhythms), “One Single Voice” was recorded by Welsh mezzo-soprano Katherine Jenkins (famous for a beloved Christmas episode of Dr. Who) after Sakamoto’s involvement in the project. The lush grand finale features all of the self-empowered heft and fine-boned focus of Celine Dion without a hint of the haughty or the saccharine. Find the vinyl edition of the soundtrack pressed on a pair of 180-gram black vinyl discs and housed in gatefold packaging with liner notes from Levitas, for what the director calls Sakamoto’s talent to “represent both the absolute best of humanity as well as the worst.” You don't have permission to access the page you requested. What is this page?The website you are visiting is protected.For security reasons this page cannot be displayed. Copyright 2025 The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved. The banners, one of them reading “Victory” are shown by lawyers following the verdict outside the Osaka district court in Osaka, western Japan, Wednesday, Sept. 27, 2023. The court on Wednesday ordered the central government, the Kumamoto prefecture and a chemical company to recognize more than 120 plaintiffs as patients of the decades-old Minamata mercury poisoning and pay compensation they have been denied because they developed symptoms after moving away from the region. (Kyodo News via AP) TOKYO (AP) — A Japanese court on Wednesday ordered the central government, the Kumamoto prefecture and a chemical company to recognize more than 120 plaintiffs as patients of the decades-old Minamata mercury poisoning and pay compensation they have been denied because they developed symptoms after moving away from the region. The plaintiffs, in their 50s and 80s, were living in Kumamoto and nearby Kagoshima at the time of the mercury poisoning and later moved to Osaka and elsewhere in western Japan. They filed a lawsuit in 2014, saying they were unfairly excluded from a 2009 compensation. They had demanded 4.5 million yen ($30,170) each, according to their lawyers. In the ruling, Judge Yuki Tatsuno said the plaintiffs were presumed to have consumed fish tainted with mercury at levels high enough to develop the disease as children before moving away from the region. Their symptoms, including numbness of the limbs, were typical of the mercury poisoning and cannot be explained by any other cause, the ruling said. “I’m so happy that the court made a fair decision,” said Yoshie Maeda, a 74-year-old who now lives in Osaka. Yoshiyuki Tokui, a lawyer, praised the ruling as “epoch-making and one that will significantly push forward relief measures for Minamata disease.” It is one of Japan’s worst environmental disasters and became an international symbol of environmental damage and corruption behind Japan’s rise to economic prominence. The central government had argued that there was no evidence to prove the plaintiffs suffered from Minamata disease. Chief Cabinet Secretary Hirokazu Matsuno told reporters that the government will take appropriate measures to improve medical, welfare and community support. Wednesday’s ruling is the first of several similar lawsuits also filed in Tokyo and Kumamoto, as well as Niigata in northern Japan, on behalf of about 1,700 people. A 2004 Supreme Court ruling held the government responsible for allowing the pollution to continue for years after its discovery, prompting renewed calls for the government to expand the scope of support. Under the special law for a new relief program that took effect in 2009, about 38,000 people became eligible for one-time payment or medical benefits, but nearly 9,700 people were rejected on grounds of age and place of residence. So far, only about 3,000 people have been officially certified as Minamata patients. Subscribe to BuzzFeed Daily NewsletterCaret DownYou Probably Don't Know Enough About "Minamata" — Johnny Depp's New Movie Will Educate You On This Story That's Still Relevant Today"Fifty years later The movie is set to be released on these platforms this Friday, April 8 . The photos taken in Minamata would form the final photo essay of W. Eugene Smith, who was called Gene by friends and colleagues. Gene shot for publications like the New York Times, Harper's Bazaar, and Life magazine during his legendary career before passing away after suffering a stroke in 1978 Photographer Hal Gould later remembered Gene's work for possessing a "deeply humanistic" style that "restructured and expanded the expressive possibilities of the photo essay to a major credit level," per the International Photography Hall of Fame and Museum The photos were then documented in a book also titled Minamata in 1975 Gene co-authored the book with his then-wife who worked alongside him in bringing awareness to Minamata victims “I’ve had people saying, ‘I read this book at 13 and it changed my life and the work I do now is because of this book,’” Aileen told Magnum Photos in April 2019 Colleagues have remembered how Gene's photography both informed viewers and embodied a strong artistic integrity “He had all of the requirements … He evoked drama and emotion. He told what was going on," David Scherman He had those painterly characteristics of a good artist." Residents of Minamata began noticing that a mysterious illness was growing in their community in the mid-1950s as people exhibited symptoms such as loss of muscle control researchers found that a plant run by chemical company Chisso Corporation was releasing methylmercury into the Minamata Bay As this was spreading to fish that Minamata locals were consuming serious health issues subsequently emerged In spite of protests, the corporation continued their toxic dumping into the bay until 1968. In the years since, 3,000 people have been recognized as victims of the illness which researchers labeled as Minamata disease 528 victims are still alive as of September 2017 Although these figures alone are significant, Minamata locals who have attempted to be acknowledged as victims exceed 20,000, the Japan Times reported in October 2020 Many are still fighting to receive reparations for their suffering “People are always saying Minamata’s over but it isn’t because citizens continue to suffer and lawsuits are ongoing,” Aileen told the Japan Times “The plaintiffs are people in their early 60s but what we’re actually talking about is kids who haven’t been recognized more than half a century after their bodies were contaminated.” While the film recognizes Gene and Aileen's contributions it also focuses on the lack of justice delivered to people who were impacted by Minamata disease which the Japan Times stated resulted in "insanity Johnny Depp, Minami, Hiroyuki Sanada and Katherine Jenkins are some of the talented actors who make up the Minamata cast remained devoted to telling the story of Minamata victims throughout the film shoot "Our cast is incredible. We have unbelievable artists who came to this with a passion to tell this story," the movie's director, Andrew Levitas, told Variety in March 2020 We did a lot with what we had because everybody loved what they were doing Even the actors — Johnny was on set days he wasn’t working whose life mission is basically to bring east and west together and to find a way to make cinema that appeals globally and connects human beings." Andrew explained how the atmosphere of the Minamata set informed Johnny's memorable performance during a February 2022 interview "We created these 360-degree environments where, not just Johnny, but all of our actors could step onto our set...and really just live and exist and be those characters and not feel that they had a technical responsibility to the camera," Andrew told Screen Rant and I think that's why you see such beautiful work for Johnny," he added Minamata is the second directorial venture by Andrew, who previously directed Amy Adams, Jennifer Hudson he quickly impressed the cast and crew as he displayed his passion for telling the story of Minamata "[Andrew] was terrific," Bill Nighy said to HeyUGuys in August 2021 he was courteous...and he was smart as anything." In February 2022, the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences announced the addition of the Oscars Fan Favorite award to recognize well-loved movies of 2021 through an audience poll Minamata earned third place in this fan survey on March 27 while Army of the Dead took the number-one spot "Having a serious film like Minamata be among the Academy Award fan favorites last night was an incredible honor," Andrew wrote on Instagram following the accolade "From the bottom of my heart I thank you — but it does not end here We must bring those who have been marginalized into the light and we must hold to account those who would fracture our right to a healthy clean unified world," he added Cast and crew members committed a substantial amount of time to carrying out research for Minamata This included Andrew meeting with Aileen and analyzing valuable archival material "There was an enormous amount of documentary footage and recordings. I did an incredible amount of digging with Aileen, where she basically told me her deepest, darkest secrets that she probably never shared with anyone," Andrew told journalist Jenelle Riley of Variety in February 2022 "[Aileen] understood that a film like this has the chance to make a difference and touch people has a chance to change people’s view on the world So she was willing to give even more of herself," he added He also met with Minamata patients and the loved ones of victims who provided their authentic accounts of living with the aftermath of the Chisso Corporation's negligent actions "The people of Minamata...they gave me such truth real deep honesty and transparency because they too felt that if there was a chance to stop the next Minamata they had a responsibility to say something," Andrew said "I think the people will at some point realize that en masse they have far more power than...any upper echelon, uber-rich bajillionaire," Johnny told HeyUGuys while talking about Minamata in August 2021 The film is a reminder to viewers that their actions can make a difference in ending injustice the people have the power to stop buying their products They have the power to not listen to this rhetoric.. many like him that I admire for continuing forward for fighting the fight without any care of repercussions," Johnny said Johnny and Bill previously worked together on Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest and Pirates of the Caribbean: At World's End Minamata is the first time the two have collaborated in nearly a decade as their last joint project prior to this was Rango in 2011 "It was very good to see [Johnny] again," Bill said in his HeyUGuys interview And when I saw him in the makeup for the first time with his beard and the whole thing that was very impressive and very encouraging because you thought Minami began her acting career in 2000 when she played the role of Keiko in the Japanese thriller film Battle Royale Her portrayal of Aileen in Minamata is the first time she has taken on a role in an English-language project "That was my first American-language movie at the moment, so I was honestly...very, very nervous," Minami told Hollywood First Look in February 2022 After meeting with Johnny prior to filming the movie She then delivered a powerful performance as Aileen alongside Johnny and her other costars "We did a test shooting...and then I met [Johnny] for the first time I just felt free in front of him," she added The United States Environmental Protection Agency reports that over 75,000 newborns in the United States may be at a higher risk of developing learning disabilities annually as a result of mercury exposure Minamata survivor Shinobu Sakamoto contracted the illness while her mother was pregnant with her. In her case, this has caused an inability to walk without assistance spoke to the United Nations Environment Programme about the importance of addressing harmful pollution practices "The fetal Minamata disease patients including myself are getting worse year by year," Shinobu said "Many people are still suffering and struggling from pollution I must repeat my message — Minamata disease is not over While he was interviewed by journalist Jeffrey K Andrew likewise called attention to the ongoing harmful effects brought on by global pollution "Part of why we felt we had to make the film was I just found it remarkable that 50 years later, we're fighting the same fights," Andrew said "These people actually in Minamata are fighting the same fights and around the world are fighting the same fights.. It's all sorts of industrial pollution incidents that are happening.. Not only did Johnny star as Gene in the movie but he also came on board as a producer of Minamata he talked about the privilege of being able to shed light on this story "Learning the history of what happened in Minamata...the fact that it even happened at all is quite shocking. The fact that it continued and still continues is even more shocking," Johnny said during a Berlin Film Festival press conference for the movie "Films like this don't get made every day," he added "So I think we're all very lucky in that sense...to be able to have the honor to bring a story like this to the people." When Andrew spoke at the same press gathering he stressed Johnny's influence in spearheading Minamata "Johnny was a driver of this project from day one," Andrew said before adding And all the passion and all of what we were able to do...came out of Johnny's heart and Johnny's passion Ryuichi, who composed the music of Minamata, won an Academy Award for scoring The Last Emperor alongside David Byrne and Cong Su in 1988 Andrew knew Ryuichi would be the perfect person to compose the musical variety necessary for Minamata “Ryuichi was my dream collaborator — he would be on any film — but on this mission in particular, there could be no one else,” Andrew said in liner notes for the movie's soundtrack, via Pitchfork “The music quite literally needed to represent both the absolute best of humanity as well as the worst… In my opinion Ryuichi was able to elegantly ride this razor’s edge and deliver on this concept entirely.” While dedicating themselves to documenting the devastation caused by mercury poisoning in Minamata Gene and Aileen utilized their platform to inform people on the urgent crisis of industrial pollution the film reveals how members of the media hold the responsibility of using their position to give a voice to those who need to be heard "[Media] is the most powerful tool for good or for evil and...it's great to tell a story where people are responsible and do try and speak truth to power," Bill said to HeyUGuys Andrew echoed this sentiment while examining the current state of journalism in his March 2020 Variety interview We have to find a way to reclaim that power and that importance," Andrew said They’re the conduit to bring us real information and protect us as citizens.. Journalists are there to boil it down for us and unfortunately it’s not happening as much as it should right now It was a time when they were struggling to get eyeballs on magazines so people will read these important stories The majority of actors in Minamata are Japanese Their presence brings further authenticity to the movie as memories of the devastation faced by the Japanese city are revisited "When I read the script, I was moved a lot and also shocked... I thought, We have to tell the story to the world, especially for now," Hiroyuki said during the Berlin Film Festival press conference "And I wanted [to be involved in] this project as a Japanese actor." Akiko visited Minamata twice before filming began and met with victims of the disease which added to her passion for the project "I hope [Minamata] will be a stone to make waves... I think we should keep talking about this and don't forget about it," Akiko said. which can cause severe damage to the brain and nervous system leading to a condition called Minamata disease It gives its name to the U.N.-backed treaty that took effect last month.Symptoms worsen with age leaving some victims grappling with the question of who will care for them after the death of siblings and parents while others face legal disputes."If I don't say something no one will know about Minamata disease," said Sakamoto who is one of the few born with the disease who is still able to talk."There are still so many problems and I want people to know."FEW SURVIVORSJust 528 people survive from among the 3,000 certified victims of Minamata disease More than 20,000 people have sought to be designated victims hoping for legal compensation."We need to take seriously the fact that there are still many people raising their hands," said ministry official Koji Sasaki referring to victims' efforts to win recognition.Born in a family of shipbuilders whose home overlooks the Minamata bay used to play on the beach with her older sister unaware it was contaminated with mercury.She was almost three when they lost the ability to move their hands freely and walk properly becoming the first to be identified as disease sufferers.Tanaka's older sister died at age eight but the poisoning left her too weak to walk without support even that became impossible.As she lay motionless in bed said he worried about the patients left behind when family members die."After I die who will take care of her?" asked Yoshio Shimoda 69.TIME NO HEALERSixty-one years since Minamata disease was identified in 1956 the grim struggles have eased for only a few.Before the government named methylmercury as its cause in 1968 disease sufferers faced discrimination over fears it was contagious which deterred many from seeking legal recognition.People still send in decades-old umbilical cords to be checked for contamination hoping for evidence to support their claims to be designated as victims director of Minamata's International Mercury Laboratory.Sakamoto considers it her duty to tell the world about the dangers of mercury."Minamata disease isn't over; it's not a thing of the past."Writing by Minami Funakoshi; Editing by Shri Navaratnam and Clarence Fernandez Our Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles., opens new tab , opens new tab Browse an unrivalled portfolio of real-time and historical market data and insights from worldwide sources and experts. , opens new tabScreen for heightened risk individual and entities globally to help uncover hidden risks in business relationships and human networks. © 2025 Reuters. All rights reserved A Japanese district court on Wednesday ordered the state and others to pay a total of 350 million yen ($2.3 million) in damages to 128 unrecognized sufferers of the Minamata mercury-poisoning disease making it the first such ruling among similar lawsuits filed nationwide over the country's redress measure The Osaka District Court recognized that all of the plaintiffs in the lawsuit with their lawyers welcoming the judgment as a "complete victory." formally acknowledged by local health authorities in 1956 has been traced to mercury-tainted water dumped into the sea by a Chisso Corp chemical plant in Minamata in Kumamoto Prefecture Relief efforts have continued since the illness which paralyzes the central nervous system and causes birth defects In the lawsuit filed with the Osaka District Court the plaintiffs sought a total of 576 million yen in damages against the state asserting that judging the eligibility of the redress measures based on an individual's residential areas and age was unjust Presiding Judge Yuki Tatsuno said that Minamata disease was the only plausible explanation for the symptoms experienced by the plaintiffs The ruling also said it is possible to develop the disease even in areas and age groups not covered under the 2009 special measures law if individuals ingest methylmercury by heavily consuming polluted fishery products The plaintiffs are aged 51 to 87 and hail from Osaka and 12 other prefectures The lawsuit was originally filed in September 2014 Each plaintiff was seeking 4.5 million yen in compensation were caused by eating seafood contaminated with the methylmercury wastewater from the Chisso plant when they were children The defendants had argued that the plaintiffs did not meet the government's criteria for patient certification and had not received mercury exposure significant enough to cause Minamata disease which recognized the possibility of delayed onset of symptoms ruled that the 20-year statute of limitations for compensation claims did not apply in this case as 20 years had not elapsed since the victims were diagnosed with the disease The Osaka plaintiffs' legal team issued a statement saying that the ruling "harshly condemned the defendants for abandoning the patients." Environment Minister Shintaro Ito told reporters that the central government has not yet confirmed the details of the ruling but added that it will consider its response with other stakeholders He stopped short of pledging to revise the special measures law only saying that the government will "respond after examining" the matter More than 1,700 plaintiffs are involved in the four lawsuits but pundits say there could be more victims The 2009 special measures law was created in the hope of bringing a final settlement in the dispute over relief measures to unrecognized patients struggling with certain symptoms About 38,000 people each received 2.1 million yen in lump-sum payments under the law But there have still been individuals who failed to meet the requirements which included being born no later than November 1969 It was not until 1968 that the Japanese government recognized Minamata disease as caused by industrial pollution and stopped the water discharge Registration for the relief measures also closed in July 2012 sparking criticism that many lost the chance to apply an 80-year-old who lives in the city of Osaka said she felt vindicated for her efforts after hearing at the court the ruling Her application for relief was rejected in 2014 because the area where she used to live in Kumamoto Prefecture was not covered under the special law She may have been able to receive compensation if she could prove that she had eaten a lot of fish but she believes such a thing is "impossible unless you have kept receipts." "I am happy -- this sums up everything," she said about the ruling Minamata disease patients oppose release of Fukushima water into sea "Please drink" treated Fukushima water: China asks Japan's minister Thank you for reaching out to us.We will get back to you as soon as possible.