What the patients requested through the trials and negotiations against the administrations and Chisso was a heartfelt and sincere apology for having caused Minamata disease and not having helped the patients.
Needless to say, those who can move their body do what they can manage. Lethality. The girls' mother informed doctors that her neighbour's daughter was also experiencing similar problems. The treatment for Minamata disease may vary depending on the extent of the condition and the symptoms present. Minamata disease -- sometimes referred to as Chisso-Minamata disease, is a neurological syndrome caused by severe mercury poisoning.

Some people feared the disease to be contagious and many local people were fiercely loyal to Chisso, depending on the company for their livelihoods. We name cooperative community projects ‘Moyai Naoshi’, which stress tackling the Minamata disease issue, and facing, understanding, and working together here in Minamata where the relationships among people and between people and nature were once destroyed. Together with its various compounds, it has a range of severe health impacts, including damage to the central nervous system, thyroid, kidneys, lungs, immune system, eyes, gums and skin. In 1961 a number of medical professionals including Masazumi Harada (later to receive an honour from the United Nations for his body of work on Minamata disease) set about re-examining children diagnosed with cerebral palsy. A congenital form of the disease can also affect fetuses in the womb. The chemical reaction used to produce the acetaldehyde used mercury sulfate as a catalyst. What the patients would ask us to do is to continue to think about what we can do from now on. Minamata disease (M. d.) is methylmercury (MeHg) poisoning that occurred in humans who ingested fish and shellfish contaminated by MeHg discharged in waste water from a chemical plant (Chisso Co. Ltd.). Yet, our environment and health are suffering, surrounded by exhaust fumes, agricultural chemicals, food preservatives, and various toxic substances. The Minamata factory employs more than 554 people as of October 2002, and it is still an important company in Minamata. The struggle now focused on to what extent the victims should be compensated.[21]. By 1951 production had jumped to 6,000 tons per year: over 50% of Japan's total output. Under this agreement, one time consolation payments of between 16 million and 18 million yen were paid to certified patients. The highest result recorded was that of a lady from Goshonoura island who had 920ppm in her sample. [4] Minamata was even dubbed Chisso's "castle town", in reference to the capital cities of feudal lords who ruled Japan during the Edo period.[5]. By 2001 there had been 2,265 official cases of Minamata disease and 1,784 of the victims had died as a result.

The methyl mercury that enters the body mainly attacks the central nervous system. Owing to the localised nature of the disease, it was suspected to be contagious and as a precaution patients were isolated and their homes disinfected. The company paid the cooperative JPY20 million (USD55,600) and set up a JPY15 million (USD41,700) fund to promote the recovery of fishing. By October 1956 more and more patients suffering from Minamata disease died as a mortality rate rose to 35%. Ill-health or damage to one’s health as a result of mercury poisoning caused by factories was also reported in China and Canada. Photographic documentation of Minamata started in the early 1960s. Minamata Disease includes in-utero exposure between mother and child and has been documented as harming three consecutive generations.

The total compensation of JPY937 million (USD3.4 million) was the largest sum ever awarded by a Japanese court. At a meeting on 5 April, 1969 the opposing views within the society could not be reconciled and the organisation split into the Arbitration Group (who were willing to accept binding arbitration) and the Litigation Group (who decided to sue the company). This fact, combined with the lack of other industry, meant that Chisso had great influence in Minamata. What they most strongly appealed for during this period, one of isolation from the local society, was that they be treated as human beings and citizens of Minamata.There is no complete cure for Minamata disease. The symptoms include numbness and unsteadiness in the legs and hands, tiredness, ringing in the ears, narrowing of the field of vision, loss of hearing, slurred speech, and awkward movements. Since the disease was caused by Chisso, on which Minamata was financially dependent, strikes broke out followed by hostility among the residents. When mercury enters the environment it is converted into highly toxic methylmercury by the metabolic processes of certain microbes. Mercury sulfate was used in the process to manufacture acetaldehyde, which led to the production of a compound called methylmercury. Photo taken by Aileen M. Smith. The violence was covered widely in the media, bringing the nation's attention to the Minamata issue for the first time since the outbreak began. Minamata seabirds and household cats,… In most people's minds the issue of Minamata disease had been resolved. Some patients work for companies. Hot House members are also involved in raising awareness of Minamata disease, often attending conferences and seminars as well as making regular visits to elementary schools throughout Kumamoto Prefecture. Researchers from the School of Medicine began visiting Minamata regularly and admitted patients to the university hospital for detailed examinations. The leader of the group, Eizō Watanabe (a former leader of the Mutual Aid Society), declared that, "Today, and from this day forth, we are fighting against the power of the state".
In patients the maximum mercury level recorded was 705 ppm (parts per million), indicating very heavy exposure and in non-symptomatic Minamata residents the level was 191 ppm. Also, Chisso uses the interest from a reserve fund to pay diaper expenses, home help costs, condolence gifts, massage treatment expenses, and transportation costs to and from hospitals.Moreover, for those who have not applied for certification but meet certainrequirements such as experiencing loss of sensation in all four extremities and having eaten large amounts of fish and shellfish, Kumamoto and Kagoshima prefectures pay the medical expenses not covered by health insurance, and expenses for other medical treatment (17,200 to 23,500 yen per month as of November, 2000) through its Comprehensive Minamata Disease Treatment Project.Based on the Final Settlement proposed by the National Government, those, whether they are alive or not, who meet certain requirements for having been affected by methyl mercury (except for certified Minamata disease victims) agreed with Chisso that they would not ask for further compensation in 1996, and received compensation payments of 2.6 million yen. Chisso Co., Ltd. has its headquarter in Tokyo and two other factories in Chiba and Okayama prefectures in addition to the Minamata factory. Also, the patients have been requesting that the victims’ conditions be acknowledged and quick relief be provided. It continued for 36 years. Chisso became one of the companies that made possible postwar Japan’s rapid economic growth.Since the Taisho period (1912-1926), pollution of the ocean by the wastewater from the Chisso factory had occasionally become a problem. Hallucinating and suicidal, his father eventually became unable to recognise anyone around him and died with his son at his bedside in April 1965. 1973 They rented a small house from the family of one of the victims, Toyoko Mizoguchi; the room the Smiths slept in was their altar to her. The polluting factory (owned by Showa Denko) employed a chemical process using a mercury catalyst very similar to that used by Chisso in Minamata.