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Japan court ruling on unrecognized Minamata victims

Unrecognized sufferers of the Minamata mercury-poisoning disease march to the Niigata District Court in Niigata, northwest of Tokyo, on April 18, 2024. The court later in the day recognized 26 plaintiffs as eligible for compensation by the company responsible but did not award them relief payments from the state.(Kyodo)

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Japan court ruling on unrecognized Minamata victims

Unrecognized sufferers of the Minamata mercury-poisoning disease and their lawyers meet the media outside the Niigata District Court in Niigata, northwest of Tokyo, on April 18, 2024, after it recognized 26 plaintiffs as eligible for compensation by the company responsible but did not award them relief payments from the state.

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Japan court ruling on unrecognized Minamata victims

Unrecognized sufferers of the Minamata mercury-poisoning disease march to the Niigata District Court in Niigata, northwest of Tokyo, on April 18, 2024. The court later in the day recognized 26 plaintiffs as eligible for compensation by the company responsible but did not award them relief payments from the state.

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Japan court ruling on unrecognized Minamata victims

Unrecognized sufferers of the Minamata mercury-poisoning disease march to the Niigata District Court in Niigata, northwest of Tokyo, on April 18, 2024. The court later in the day recognized 26 plaintiffs as eligible for compensation by the company responsible but did not award them relief payments from the state.

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Mercury poisoning victim speaks at Minamata treaty talks

BANGKOK, Thailand - Japanese Minamata disease victim Hideo Ikoma (R) speaks of his struggle against the mercury poisoning disease in Bangkok on Nov. 6, 2014, at a meeting of government officials negotiating procedures for the ratification of the Minamata Convention on Mercury.

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S. Korea signs anti-mercury pollution convention

NEW YORK, United States - A South Korean representative (front) signs the Minamata Convention designed to prevent mercury pollution at the U.N. headquarters in New York on Sept. 24, 2014, as Japanese Environment Minister Yoshio Mochizuki(back L) looks on.

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Monument with 3 poems by Emperor unveiled in Minamata

KUMAMOTO, Japan - Minamata Mayor Hiroshi Nishida (L) attends an unveiling ceremony for a monument inscribed with three poems by Emperor Akihito at a seaside park in Minamata, Kumamoto Prefecture in southwestern Japan, on March 18, 2014. The poems describe his sentiments toward victims of the Minamata mercury-poisoning disease following his visit to the city with Empress Michiko for the first time in October 2013.

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Emperor, empress visit Minamata

MINAMATA, Japan - Emperor Akihito and Empress Michiko lay flowers at the monument to Minamata disease victims in Minamata, Kumamoto Prefecture, southwestern Japan, on Oct. 27, 2013. The imperial couple visited the city for the first time, where toxic industrial emissions caused the Minamata mercury-poisoning disease. (Pool photo)

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Emperor, empress visit Minamata

MINAMATA, Japan - Emperor Akihito and Empress Michiko lay flowers at the monument to Minamata disease victims in Minamata, Kumamoto Prefecture, southwestern Japan, on Oct. 27, 2013. The imperial couple visited the city for the first time, where toxic industrial emissions caused the Minamata mercury-poisoning disease. (Pool photo)

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Emperor, empress visit Minamata

MINAMATA, Japan - Emperor Akihito and Empress Michiko lay flowers at the monument to Minamata disease victims in Minamata, Kumamoto Prefecture, southwestern Japan, on Oct. 27, 2013. The imperial couple visited the city for the first time, where toxic industrial emissions caused the Minamata mercury-poisoning disease. (Pool photo)

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Emperor, empress visit Minamata city

MINAMATA, Japan - Emperor Akihito and Empress Michiko watch juvenile flatfish they have released in Minamata in Kumamoto Prefecture, southwestern Japan, on Oct. 27, 2013, during a public event on sea resources. The imperial couple visited the city for the first time, where toxic industrial emissions caused the Minamata mercury-poisoning disease.

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Minamata Convention

KUMAMOTO, Japan - United Nations Environment Program Executive Director Achim Steiner (L) and Japanese Foreign Minister Fumio Kishida shake hands during a press conference after an international conference to adopt the landmark "Minamata Convention on Mercury" in Minamata, Kumamoto Prefecture, southwestern Japan, on Oct. 10, 2013. Delegates from across the world adopted the treaty to regulate the use and trade of mercury, named after a Japanese city where industrial emissions of the toxic substance caused a poisoning disease affecting thousands of people.

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Minamata Convention

KUMAMOTO, Japan - Japanese Environment Minister Nobuteru Ishihara signs the landmark "Minamata Convention on Mercury" after chairing an international conference to adopt the treaty in Minamata, Kumamoto Prefecture, southwestern Japan, on Oct. 10, 2013. Delegates from across the world adopted the pact to regulate the use and trade of mercury, named after a Japanese city where industrial emissions of the toxic substance caused a poisoning disease affecting thousands of people.

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Minamata Convention

KUMAMOTO, Japan - Japanese Environment Minister Nobuteru Ishihara (L) signs the landmark "Minamata Convention on Mercury" after chairing an international conference to adopt the treaty in Minamata, Kumamoto Prefecture, southwestern Japan, on Oct. 10, 2013. Delegates from across the world adopted the pact to regulate the use and trade of mercury, named after a Japanese city where industrial emissions of the toxic substance caused a poisoning disease affecting thousands of people.

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Minamata Convention

KUMAMOTO, Japan - Japanese Environment Minister Nobuteru Ishihara (C) serves as president of an international conference organized by the U.N. Environment Program in Kumamoto City on Oct. 10, 2013. Delegates from across the world adopted "the Minamata Convention on Mercury," an international treaty to regulate the use and trade of mercury, at the conference later in the day.

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Minamata Convention

KUMAMOTO, Japan - An international conference organized by the U.N. Environment Program is held in Kumamoto City on Oct. 10, 2013. Delegates from across the world adopted "the Minamata Convention on Mercury," an international treaty to regulate the use and trade of mercury, at the conference later in the day.

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Minamata Convention

KUMAMOTO, Japan - Japanese Environment Minister Nobuteru Ishihara speaks at an international conference organized by the U.N. Environment Program in Kumamoto City on Oct. 10, 2013. Delegates from across the world adopted "the Minamata Convention on Mercury," an international treaty to regulate the use and trade of mercury, at the conference later in the day.

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Abe angers Minamata disease sufferers

MINAMATA, Japan - Prime Minister Shinzo Abe (on screen) speaks in a video message sent to an international environmental conference in the southwestern Japan city of Minamata in Kumamoto Prefecture on Oct. 9, 2013. Abe's remarks that Japan has overcome the damage from mercury poisoning in the 1950s and 1960s angered some of those still suffering from the Minamata mercury-poisoning disease.

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Minamata conference

MINAMATA, Japan - Representatives to an international conference to conclude the Minamata Treaty for mercury regulation offer flowers at a monument commemorating Minamata disease victims in Minamata, Kumamoto Prefecture, on Oct. 9, 2013.

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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.

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Kumamoto governor on recognition of Minamata patient

KUMAMOTO, Japan - Kumamoto Gov. Ikuo Kabashima holds a press conference at the prefectural government hall in Kumamoto on May 2, 2013. Kabashima said the Kumamoto prefectural government will certify a deceased woman as a victim of the Minamata mercury-poisoning disease by dropping its appeal over a lawsuit that she had filed.

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Top court declares woman Minamata disease victim

TOKYO, Japan - Plaintiff Akio Mizoguchi raises his arms in celebration in front of the Supreme Court in Tokyo on April 16, 2013. The top court upheld a high court ruling that posthumously recognized his mother Chie as a victim of the Minamata mercury-poisoning disease, one of the country's worst outbreaks of disease linked to industrial pollution.

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Top court declares woman Minamata disease victim

TOKYO, Japan - Plaintiff Akio Mizoguchi raises his arms in celebration in front of the Supreme Court in Tokyo on April 16, 2013. The top court upheld a high court ruling that posthumously recognized his mother Chie as a victim of the Minamata mercury-poisoning disease, one of the country's worst outbreaks of disease linked to industrial pollution.

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Mercury poisoning treaty

GENEVA, Switzerland - Japanese government representatives applaud after negotiators agreed, in accordance with Japan's proposal, to name a new international treaty on regulating mercury trading as the "Minamata Convention," at the United Nations in Geneva on Jan. 19, 2013. Minamata is a city in Japan's Kumamoto Prefecture that has given its name to a mercury-poisoning disease that was caused by the discharge of mercury-laced wastewater by a local chemical plant.

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U.N. governmental talks for treaty against mercury poisoning

GENEVA, Switzerland - Slides on Minamata disease in Japan are shown Jan. 13, 2013, during government-level talks at the United Nations that began the same day in Geneva to form a treaty to regulate mercury trading and help prevent environmental pollution and damage to health from the toxic substance.

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Application deadline for Minamata redress

KAGOSHIMA, Japan - People visit the city office of Izumi, Kagoshima Prefecture, on July 31, 2012, to apply for state redress under a special law for potential patients of Minamata mercury poisoning disease. The deadline for the application will expire later in the day despite a petition by more than 100,000 people to extend the time limit.

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Health check for Minamata disease ahead of relief deadline

KAGOSHIMA, Japan - A man (L) receives a health checkup in Izumi, Kagoshima Prefecture, on June 24, 2012, in the largest-ever screening for potential Minamata disease sufferers in Kumamoto and Kagoshima prefectures ahead of the end-of-July deadline for applying for state redress.

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Health check for Minamata disease ahead of relief deadline

KUMAMOTO, Japan - People visit a hospital to receive a health checkup in Minamata, Kumamoto Prefecture, on June 24, 2012, in the largest-ever screening for potential Minamata disease sufferers in Kumamoto and Kagoshima prefectures ahead of the end-of-July deadline for applying for state redress.

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Health check for Minamata disease ahead of relief deadline

KUMAMOTO, Japan - A doctor examines a man in Amakusa, Kumamoto Prefecture, on June 24, 2012, in the largest-ever screening for potential Minamata disease sufferers in Kumamoto and Kagoshima prefectures ahead of the end-of-July deadline for applying for state redress.

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Minamata disease authority Harada dies

TOKYO, Japan - File photo taken in May 2001 in Izumi, Kagoshima Prefecture, shows Masazumi Harada, a physician involved for many years in the study of the mercury poisoning-caused Minamata disease, giving a medical checkup to a man suspected of being a congenital sufferer of the disease. Harada died on June 11, 2012, of leukemia at his home in Kumamoto City. He was 77.

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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.

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Minamata marks 56th anniv. of disease recognition

MINAMATA, Japan - Environment Minister Goshi Hosono (L) speaks to Minamata disease sufferers in Minamata, Kumamoto Prefecture, on May 1, 2012, prior to a memorial ceremony for the 56th anniversary of official recognition of the mercury-poisoning disease. To the right is Kumamoto Gov. Ikuo Kabashima.

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Minamata disease lawsuit

FUKUOKA, Japan - Akio Mizoguchi smiles as he holds a portrait of his late mother Chie in front of the Fukuoka High Court in Fukuoka on Feb. 27, 2012, after the court required the Kumamoto prefectural government to certify her as a sufferer of Minamata mercury poisoning disease.

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Environment Minister Hosono in Minamata

MINAMATA, Japan - Environment Minister Goshi Hosono (back R) speaks during a meeting with sufferers of Minamata mercury poisoning disease in Minamata, Kumamoto Prefecture, on Jan. 29, 2012. He apologized for the time it is taking the government to resolve the issue of providing relief measures to uncertified sufferers of the disease caused by the release of tainted water into the sea decades ago.

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Environment Minister Hosono in Minamata

MINAMATA, Japan - Environment Minister Goshi Hosono lays flowers at a cenotaph for the victims of Minamata mercury poisoning disease in Minamata, Kumamoto Prefecture, on Jan. 29, 2012.

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Environment Minister Hosono in Minamata

MINAMATA, Japan - Environment Minister Goshi Hosono offers flowers at a cenotaph for the victims of Minamata mercury poisoning disease in Minamata, Kumamoto Prefecture, on Jan. 29, 2012. To the left is Kumamoto Gov. Ikuo Kabashima.

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Environment Minister Hosono in Minamata

MINAMATA, Japan - Environment Minister Goshi Hosono bows during a meeting with sufferers of Minamata mercury poisoning disease in Minamata, Kumamoto Prefecture, on Jan. 29, 2012, apologizing for the time it is taking the government to resolve the issue of providing relief measures to uncertified sufferers of the disease caused by the release of tainted water into the sea decades ago.

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Environment Minister Hosono in Minamata

MINAMATA, Japan - Environment Minister Goshi Hosono lays flowers at a cenotaph for the victims of Minamata mercury poisoning disease in Minamata, Kumamoto Prefecture, on Jan. 29, 2012.

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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.

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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.

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Harada inducted into Earth Hall of Fame Kyoto

KYOTO, Japan - Masazumi Harada (R), a doctor and expert on Minamata disease and mercury pollution, receives a certificate in Kyoto on Feb. 13, 2011, after being inducted into the Earth Hall of Fame Kyoto along with Elinor Ostrom, a Nobel laureate in economics and professor at Indiana University, and Jigme Singye Wangchuk, the former king of Bhutan. The award which is given in the name of Kyoto, the birthplace of the Kyoto Protocol, honors the achievements of those who have contributed to conservation of the global environment.

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Memorial service held for Minamata disease victims

KUMAMOTO, Japan - Prime Minister Yukio Hatoyama delivers a speech during an annual memorial service for the victims of Minamata mercury-poisoning disease in Minamata, Kumamoto Prefecture, on May 1, 2010. Hatoyama is the first premier to take part in the event since the memorial service was launched in 1992.

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Memorial service held for Minamata disease victims

KUMAMOTO, Japan - Prime Minister Yukio Hatoyama offer flowers during an annual memorial service for the victims of Minamata mercury-poisoning disease in Minamata, Kumamoto Prefecture, on May 1, 2010. Hatoyama is the first premier to take part in the event since the memorial service was launched in 1992.

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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.

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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.

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Gov't to accept settlement for Minamata disease suit: Hatoyama

TOKYO, Japan - Environment Minister Sakihito Ozawa speaks to reporters at the prime minister's office in Tokyo on March 18, 2010, after talks with Prime Minister Yukio Hatoyama. Later, Hatoyama told reporters that he has decided to accept a court-brokered settlement plan for a damages suit filed by unrecognized sufferers of Minamata mercury poisoning disease.

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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.

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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.

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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.

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Bill to offer relief to Minamata patients passes lower house

TOKYO, Japan - Environment Minister Tetsuo Saito bows after a plenary session of the House of Representatives passed a bill on June 3 to offer financial relief to as many as 20,000 people suffering from the Minamata mercury poisoning of the 1950s and 1960s under eased standards of recognition. The bill is expected to clear the House of Councillors and become law next week.