Search｜Photos & Images & Videos｜KYODO NEWS IMAGES INC

Union journals show workers' struggle with Minamata disease

TOKYO, Japan - Photo taken at Kashiwashobo Publishing Co. in Tokyo's Bunkyo Ward on June 25, 2013, shows reprinted journals called "Siren" of the labor union of Chisso Corp. that show the efforts of its members to address Minamata mercury-poisoning disease caused by the company and seek better labor conditions.

E

Minamata 56th anniversary

MINAMATA, Japan - Michio Morita, president of Chisso Corp., places a flower during a ceremony in Minamata, Kumamoto Prefecture, on May 1, 2012, to mark the 56th anniversary of official recognition of the mercury-poisoning disease. A company plant caused the disease by releasing mercury-tainted water into the sea. To the left is Environment Minister Goshi Hosono.

E

55th anniv. of Minamata disease recognition marked

MINAMATA, Japan - A man (C) suffering from Minamata disease offers flowers during a ceremony commemorating the 55th anniversary of the disease's official recognition in Minamata, Kumamoto Prefecture, on May 1, 2011. The neurological illness, caused by mercury-tainted water dumped into the sea by a Chisso Corp. chemical plant, was officially recognized on May 1, 1956, when the local health center received a report about the emergence of an unknown disease from a doctor.

E

Unrecognized Minamata disease sufferers settle damages suit

KUMAMOTO, Japan - Representatives of plaintiffs and others raise banners to celebrate a settlement of a damages suit filed by Minamata disease sufferers in front of the Kumamoto District Court in southwestern Japan on March 25, 2011. A group of unrecognized Minamata disease sufferers reached an out-of-court settlement the same day with Chisso Corp., the chemical maker responsible for causing the mercury-poisoning disease.

E

Minamata disease suit settled as mediation plan approved

KUMAMOTO, Japan - Unrecognized sufferers of Minamata mercury poisoning disease celebrate in front of the Kumamoto District Court in Kumamoto on March 29, 2010, after they agreed with the state, Kumamoto Prefecture and chemical maker Chisso Corp. to settle a damages suit in principle under a court-brokered plan that includes lump-sum payments of 2.1 million yen per person.

E

Minamata disease suit settled as mediation plan approved

KUMAMOTO, Japan - Toshio Oishi, the representative of unrecognized sufferers of Minamata mercury poisoning disease, speaks at a news conference in Kumamoto on March 29, 2010, after the sufferers agreed with the state, Kumamoto Prefecture and chemical maker Chisso Corp. to settle a damages suit in principle under a plan brokered by the Kumamoto District Court that includes lump-sum payments of 2.1 million yen per person.

E

Reconciliation sought for damages suit over Minamata disease

KUMAMOTO, Japan - Unrecognized Minamata disease patients, who filed damaged suit against the state, Kumamoto Prefecture and chemical maker Chisso Corp., celebrate in front of the Kumamoto District Court in Kumamoto on Jan. 22, 2010, after the court sought reconciliation on the case. The 2,018 plaintiffs and the three defendants will discuss the amount of lump-sum and medical payments, as well as how to decide on eligible patients.

E

Reconciliation sought for damages suit over Minamata disease

KUMAMOTO, Japan - Unrecognized Minamata disease patients, who filed damaged suit against the state, Kumamoto Prefecture and chemical maker Chisso Corp., celebrate in front of the Kumamoto District Court in Kumamoto on Jan. 22, 2010, after the court sought reconciliation on the case. The 2,018 plaintiffs and the three defendants will discuss the amount of lump-sum and medical payments, as well as how to decide on eligible patients.

E

Reconciliation sought for damages suit over Minamata disease

KUMAMOTO, Japan - Lawyers for a group of unrecognized Minamata disease patients hold up banners showing the Kumamoto District Court's recommendation to seek reconciliation on the damages suit filed by the patients in front of the court in Kumamoto on Jan. 22, 2010. Later in the day, the 2,018 plaintiffs and the three defendants -- the state, Kumamoto Prefecture and chemical maker Chisso Corp. -- started negotiations on the amount of lump-sum and medical payments, as well as how to decide on eligible patients.

E

Chisso rejects rescue package for Minamata disease patients

TOKYO, Japan - Chisso Corp. Chairman Shunkichi Goto attends Nov. 19 a news conference in Tokyo where he said his company has rejected a coalition rescue package for unrecognized Minamata disease patients that requires the chemical maker to pay 1.5 million yen to each of thousands of unrecognized sufferers of mercury poisoning caused by the company.

E

Grandfather of Crown Princess Masako, dies at 98

TOKYO, Japan - Yutaka Egashira (file photo), grandfather of Crown Princess Masako and former chairman of chemical product company Chisso Corp., died Sept. 24. He was 98.

E

Unrecognized Minamata disease patients sue gov't

KUMAMOTO, Japan - People in Kumamoto and Kagoshima prefectures yet to be officially recognized as Minamata mercury-poisoning sufferers hold a rally in front of the Kumamoto District Court on Oct. 3. The banner says ''No More Minamata.'' Fifty people filed a 425 million yen compensation lawsuit against the state, Kumamoto Prefecture and chemical maker Chisso Corp.

E

Court orders compensation for Minamata victims

OSAKA, Japan - A group of plaintiffs in a compensation suit against the central government, the Kumamoto prefectural government and a chemical company over Minamata mercury-poisoning disease walk to court on April 27. The Osaka High Court that day ordered the two governments and Chisso Corp. to pay poisoning victims and their bereaved relatives 320 million yen in damages. The suit was initially filed 19 years ago.

E

A Report from Minamata: Proof of Life

Jitsuko Tanaka, 18, an Minamata disease patient, was finally certified last December even though her disease started in 1955. The mercury used as a catalyst in the production process of acetaldehyde (a raw material for chemical products) at Chisso Corporation in Minamata City, Kumamoto Prefecture, was discharged into nature as factory effluent, which turned into organic mercury (methyl mercury). The main symptoms are sensory disturbance, nausea, and vomiting. The main symptoms are sensory disturbance, ataxia, narrowing of the visual field, hearing impairment, etc. In severe cases, the brain is affected, leading to death. In severe cases, it can affect the brain and lead to death. In addition, if a mother eats seafood contaminated with mercury during pregnancy, the fetus may develop Minamata disease. 　 In addition, if the mother eats seafood contaminated with mercury during pregnancy, fetal Minamata disease may develop. Date of shooting unknown, Date of release: March 10, 1972.

E

Accusations from Minamata: : A Grudge Vanishes in the Cracks

It has been 20 years since the outbreak of the disease, one year since the sit-in at Chisso Corporation, and there are many uncertified patients. Minamata Disease Voluntary Negotiations, Conflict between Residents and the Company at Chisso's Head Office, Sit-in, February 23 Voluntary Negotiations, Life of Minamata Disease Fetal Patients (Bedridden), Interviews with Patients' Families, Kakuei Tanaka's Speech, Port Scenery, Filming date unknown, Release date: December 1, 1972.

E

Chisso Corporation

KUMAMOTO, Japan - A Chisso Corp. plant in Minamata, Kumamoto Prefecture. The photo was taken on April 23, 1996. (Kyodo)

E

Grandfather of Crown Princess Masako, dies at 98

TOKYO, Japan - Yutaka Egashira (file photo), grandfather of Crown Princess Masako and former chairman of chemical product company Chisso Corp., died Sept. 24. He was 98. (Kyodo)

E

Minamata 56th anniversary

MINAMATA, Japan - Michio Morita, president of Chisso Corp., places a flower during a ceremony in Minamata, Kumamoto Prefecture, on May 1, 2012, to mark the 56th anniversary of official recognition of the mercury-poisoning disease. A company plant caused the disease by releasing mercury-tainted water into the sea. To the left is Environment Minister Goshi Hosono. (Kyodo)

E

Chisso rejects rescue package for Minamata disease patients

TOKYO, Japan - Chisso Corp. Chairman Shunkichi Goto attends Nov. 19 a news conference in Tokyo where he said his company has rejected a coalition rescue package for unrecognized Minamata disease patients that requires the chemical maker to pay 1.5 million yen to each of thousands of unrecognized sufferers of mercury poisoning caused by the company. (Kyodo)

E

Unrecognized Minamata disease patients sue gov't

KUMAMOTO, Japan - People in Kumamoto and Kagoshima prefectures yet to be officially recognized as Minamata mercury-poisoning sufferers hold a rally in front of the Kumamoto District Court on Oct. 3. The banner says ''No More Minamata.'' Fifty people filed a 425 million yen compensation lawsuit against the state, Kumamoto Prefecture and chemical maker Chisso Corp. (Kyodo)

E

55th anniv. of Minamata disease recognition marked

MINAMATA, Japan - A man (C) suffering from Minamata disease offers flowers during a ceremony commemorating the 55th anniversary of the disease's official recognition in Minamata, Kumamoto Prefecture, on May 1, 2011. The neurological illness, caused by mercury-tainted water dumped into the sea by a Chisso Corp. chemical plant, was officially recognized on May 1, 1956, when the local health center received a report about the emergence of an unknown disease from a doctor. (Kyodo)

E

Minamata disease suit settled as mediation plan approved

KUMAMOTO, Japan - Toshio Oishi, the representative of unrecognized sufferers of Minamata mercury poisoning disease, speaks at a news conference in Kumamoto on March 29, 2010, after the sufferers agreed with the state, Kumamoto Prefecture and chemical maker Chisso Corp. to settle a damages suit in principle under a plan brokered by the Kumamoto District Court that includes lump-sum payments of 2.1 million yen per person. (Kyodo)

E

Minamata disease suit settled as mediation plan approved

KUMAMOTO, Japan - Unrecognized sufferers of Minamata mercury poisoning disease celebrate in front of the Kumamoto District Court in Kumamoto on March 29, 2010, after they agreed with the state, Kumamoto Prefecture and chemical maker Chisso Corp. to settle a damages suit in principle under a court-brokered plan that includes lump-sum payments of 2.1 million yen per person. (Kyodo)

E

Unrecognized Minamata disease sufferers settle damages suit

KUMAMOTO, Japan - Representatives of plaintiffs and others raise banners to celebrate a settlement of a damages suit filed by Minamata disease sufferers in front of the Kumamoto District Court in southwestern Japan on March 25, 2011. A group of unrecognized Minamata disease sufferers reached an out-of-court settlement the same day with Chisso Corp., the chemical maker responsible for causing the mercury-poisoning disease. (Kyodo)

E

Reconciliation sought for damages suit over Minamata disease

KUMAMOTO, Japan - Unrecognized Minamata disease patients, who filed damaged suit against the state, Kumamoto Prefecture and chemical maker Chisso Corp., celebrate in front of the Kumamoto District Court in Kumamoto on Jan. 22, 2010, after the court sought reconciliation on the case. The 2,018 plaintiffs and the three defendants will discuss the amount of lump-sum and medical payments, as well as how to decide on eligible patients. (Kyodo)

E

Reconciliation sought for damages suit over Minamata disease

KUMAMOTO, Japan - Lawyers for a group of unrecognized Minamata disease patients hold up banners showing the Kumamoto District Court's recommendation to seek reconciliation on the damages suit filed by the patients in front of the court in Kumamoto on Jan. 22, 2010. Later in the day, the 2,018 plaintiffs and the three defendants -- the state, Kumamoto Prefecture and chemical maker Chisso Corp. -- started negotiations on the amount of lump-sum and medical payments, as well as how to decide on eligible patients. (Kyodo)

E

Reconciliation sought for damages suit over Minamata disease

KUMAMOTO, Japan - Unrecognized Minamata disease patients, who filed damaged suit against the state, Kumamoto Prefecture and chemical maker Chisso Corp., celebrate in front of the Kumamoto District Court in Kumamoto on Jan. 22, 2010, after the court sought reconciliation on the case. The 2,018 plaintiffs and the three defendants will discuss the amount of lump-sum and medical payments, as well as how to decide on eligible patients. (Kyodo)

E

Celebrations for sufferers of embryonic Minamata disease turning 60

Two women and two men who are sufferers of embryonic Minamata disease attend a party at a welfare facility in Minamata, Kumamoto Prefecture on Feb. 4, 2017, held to celebrate their "kanreki" -- turning 60 -- an occasion for a special celebration in Japan. They suffer from the neurological disease as a result of their mothers eating mercury-contaminated seafood when pregnant with them. A Chisso Corp. chemical factory released methyl mercury along with wastewater into Minamata Bay between 1932 and 1968. (Kyodo) ==Kyodo

E

Court orders compensation for Minamata victims

OSAKA, Japan - A group of plaintiffs in a compensation suit against the central government, the Kumamoto prefectural government and a chemical company over Minamata mercury-poisoning disease walk to court on April 27. The Osaka High Court that day ordered the two governments and Chisso Corp. to pay poisoning victims and their bereaved relatives 320 million yen in damages. The suit was initially filed 19 years ago.