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Minamata marks 70th anniv. of mercury-poisoning disease

Japanese Environment Minister Hirotaka Ishihara delivers a speech at a memorial service for the victims of Minamata disease in Minamata, Kumamoto prefecture, southwestern Japan, on May 1, 2026, the 70th anniversary of Japan's official recognition of the mercury-poisoning disease caused by industrial pollution.

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Minamata marks 70th anniv. of mercury-poisoning disease

Japanese Environment Minister Hirotaka Ishihara (2nd from R) meets with members of a Minamata disease suffers group in Minamata, Kumamoto Prefecture in southwestern Japan, on May 1, 2026, the 70th anniversary of Japan's official recognition of the mercury-poisoning disease caused by industrial pollution. (Pool photo)

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5th confab of signatory states for mercury pollution prevention

Signatory states to an international treaty to protect human health and the environment from mercury pollution hold their fifth conference in Geneva on Nov. 3, 2023.

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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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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 - Government-level talks are held at the United Nations in Geneva on Jan. 19, 2013, on the draft of a new international treaty to regulate mercury trading to help prevent environmental pollution and health damage from the toxic substance.

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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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U.N. governmental talks for treaty against mercury poisoning

GENEVA, Switzerland - Government-level talks at the United Nations commence in Geneva on Jan. 13, 2013, 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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U.N. governmental talks for treaty against mercury poisoning

GENEVA, Switzerland - The Japanese delegation (front) attends government-level talks on Jan. 13, 2013, 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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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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U.N. cautions against mercury pollution from gold mining

TOKYO, Japan - Rafts for gold mining are afloat on a river in a photo taken in June 1992 near Londorina in southern Brazil. A U.N. report said that the level of mercury released into the environment through gold mining in developing countries amounts to 1,000 tons annually, comprising about a third of gross mercury emissions around the world.

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Minamata disease victims mourned on 50th anniv.

MINAMATA, Japan - People lay flowers and offer prayers during a memorial service held for the victims of the Minamata mercury-poisoning disease, Japan's most serious pollution-related illness in the postwar period, in Minamata, Kumamoto Prefecture, on the 50th anniversary of its official recognition on May 1.

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Minamata disease symposium opens in Kumamoto Pref.

KUMAMOTO, Japan - The opening ceremony of the Sixth International Conference on Mercury as a Global Pollutant is held in Minamata, Kumamoto Prefecture, on Oct. 15. Some 500 researchers from about 40 countries are taking part in the five-day conference to discuss the actual conditions of mercury pollution around the world and study measures to combat them.

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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.

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Minamata marks 60th anniv. of mercury-poisoning disease recognition

Around 50 people pray for the victims of Minamata mercury-poisoning disease at a memorial ceremony in the city of Minamata in Kumamoto Prefecture, southwestern Japan, on May 1, 2016, marking the 60th anniversary of Japan's official recognition of the illness linked to industrial pollution. An annual memorial service usually attended by the environment minister and Kumamoto governor was postponed in the wake of a series of powerful earthquakes in the region since mid-April. (Kyodo) ==Kyodo

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Minamata marks 60th anniv. of mercury-poisoning disease recognition

Around 50 people pray for the victims of Minamata mercury-poisoning disease at a memorial ceremony in the city of Minamata in Kumamoto Prefecture, southwestern Japan, on May 1, 2016, marking the 60th anniversary of Japan's official recognition of the illness linked to industrial pollution. An annual memorial service usually attended by the environment minister and Kumamoto governor was postponed in the wake of a series of powerful earthquakes in the region since mid-April. (Kyodo) ==Kyodo

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Japan joins Minamata convention against mercury pollution

Japanese Ambassador to the United Nations Motohide Yoshikawa (L) presents a U.N. official with the instrument of acceptance for Japan to join the Minamata Convention on Mercury at the U.N. headquarters in New York on Feb. 2, 2016. Japan became the 23rd country to join the convention, an international anti-mercury pollution treaty that requires approval by 50 countries to take effect. (Kyodo) ==Kyodo

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Minamata

Minamata disease,Pollution,Contamination,The Four Big Pollution Diseases of Japan==Date:unknown, Place:Japan,Photo:Kikujiro Fukushima

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Minamata

Minamata disease,Pollution,The Yatsushiro Sea,Victim,Mercury pollution,The Four Big Pollution Diseases of Japan==Date:unknown, Place:Japan,Photo:Kikujiro Fukushima

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Minamata

Minamata disease,Pollution,Demonstration,Contamination,Mercury pollution,The Four Big Pollution Diseases of Japan==Date:unknown, Place:Japan,Photo:Kikujiro Fukushima

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Minamata

Minamata disease,Pollution,The Yatsushiro Sea,Mercury pollution,The Four Big Pollution Diseases of Japan==Date:unknown, Place:Japan,Photo:Kikujiro Fukushima

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Minamata

Minamata disease,Pollution,The Yatsushiro Sea,Victim,Mercury pollution,The Four Big Pollution Diseases of Japan==Date:unknown, Place:Japan,Photo:Kikujiro Fukushima

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Minamata

Minamata disease,Pollution,The Yatsushiro Sea,Victim,Mercury pollution==Date:unknown, Place:Japan,Photo:Kikujiro Fukushima

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Minamata

Minamata disease,Pollution,The Yatsushiro Sea,Victim,Mercury pollution,The Four Big Pollution Diseases of Japan==Date:unknown, Place:Japan,Photo:Kikujiro Fukushima

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Minamata

Minamata disease,Pollution,The Yatsushiro Sea,Victim,Mercury pollution,The Four Big Pollution Diseases of Japan==Date:unknown, Place:Japan,Photo:Kikujiro Fukushima

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Minamata

Minamata disease,Pollution,The Yatsushiro Sea,Mercury pollution,The Four Big Pollution Diseases of Japan,Fish carcass==Date:unknown, Place:Japan,Photo:Kikujiro Fukushima

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Minamata

Minamata disease,Pollution,The Yatsushiro Sea,Victim,Mercury pollution,The Four Big Pollution Diseases of Japan==Date:unknown, Place:Japan,Photo:Kikujiro Fukushima

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Minamata

Minamata disease,Pollution,The Yatsushiro Sea,Victim,Mercury pollution,The Four Big Pollution Diseases of Japan==Date:unknown, Place:Japan,Photo:Kikujiro Fukushima

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Minamata

Minamata disease,Pollution,The Yatsushiro Sea,Victim,Mercury pollution,The Four Big Pollution Diseases of Japan==Date:unknown, Place:Japan,Photo:Kikujiro Fukushima

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Minamata

Minamata disease,Pollution,The Yatsushiro Sea,Victim,Mercury pollution,The Four Big Pollution Diseases of Japan==Date:unknown, Place:Japan,Photo:Kikujiro Fukushima

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Minamata disease victims mourned on 50th anniv.

MINAMATA, Japan - People lay flowers and offer prayers during a memorial service held for the victims of the Minamata mercury-poisoning disease, Japan's most serious pollution-related illness in the postwar period, in Minamata, Kumamoto Prefecture, on the 50th anniversary of its official recognition on May 1. (Kyodo)

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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. (Kyodo)

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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. (Kyodo)

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Minamata disease patient to attend conference on mercury pollution

Photo taken in June 2017 in the southwestern Japan city of Minamata shows Shinobu Sakamoto, a Minamata disease patient, who will visit Switzerland in September to attend the first conference of signatory states to an international treaty to prevent mercury pollution. (Kyodo) ==Kyodo

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Minamata marks 62nd anniv. of mercury-poisoning disease

Patients of Minamata mercury-poisoning disease and family members of the victims attend a memorial service in the southwestern Japanese city of Minamata on May 1, 2018, the 62nd anniversary of Japan's official recognition of the disaster caused by industrial pollution. (Kyodo) ==Kyodo

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Minamata marks 62nd anniv. of mercury-poisoning disease

Preparation work is under way for a memorial service to commemorate the victims of Minamata mercury-poisoning disease in the southwestern Japanese city of Minamata on May 1, 2018, the 62nd anniversary of Japan's official recognition of the disaster caused by industrial pollution. (Kyodo) ==Kyodo

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Minamata marks 62nd anniv. of mercury-poisoning disease

People offer a prayer for victims of Minamata mercury-poisoning disease in the southwestern Japanese city of Minamata on May 1, 2018, the 62nd anniversary of Japan's official recognition of the disaster caused by industrial pollution. (Kyodo) ==Kyodo

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Japan environment minister, mercury pollution victim meet in Geneva

Shinobu Sakamoto (C), a victim of Minamata mercury poisoning, and Japanese Environment Minister Masaharu Nakagawa (R) shake hands in Geneva on Sept. 29, 2017. Sakamoto attended the first conference of signatory states to an international treaty to prevent mercury pollution in the Swiss city. (Kyodo) ==Kyodo

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Big fountain at Lake Geneva lit up in red

A big fountain at Lake Geneva, also known as Lac Leman, is lit up in red, the color of mercury ore, on Sept. 28, 2017, with the first conference of signatory states to an international treaty to prevent mercury pollution currently underway in the Swiss city. (Kyodo) ==Kyodo

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Swiss pres. at mercury pollution treaty conference

Swiss President Doris Leuthard addresses on Sept. 28, 2017, a ministerial meeting in Geneva of the first conference of signatory states to an international treaty to prevent mercury pollution. (Kyodo) ==Kyodo

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Victim highlights suffering in event on mercury pollution treaty

Shinobu Sakamoto (C), a 61-year-old victim of Minamata mercury poisoning, shakes hands in Geneva, Switzerland, on Sept. 28, 2017, with the chairman of the first conference of signatory states to an international treaty to prevent mercury pollution, after speaking at an event on the sidelines of the meeting. (Kyodo) ==Kyodo

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Victim highlights suffering in event on mercury pollution treaty

Shinobu Sakamoto (2nd from R), a 61-year-old victim of Minamata mercury poisoning, speaks at an event in Geneva, Switzerland, on Sept. 28, 2017, on the sidelines of the first conference of signatory states to an international treaty to prevent mercury pollution. Sakamoto from the southwestern Japan city of Minamata was exposed to the toxic chemical while in the womb after her mother ate seafood contaminated with methyl mercury. (Kyodo) ==Kyodo

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Victim highlights suffering in event on mercury pollution treaty

Shinobu Sakamoto, a 61-year-old victim of Minamata mercury poisoning, speaks at an event in Geneva, Switzerland, on Sept. 28, 2017, on the sidelines of the first conference of signatory states to an international treaty to prevent mercury pollution. Sakamoto from the southwestern Japan city of Minamata was exposed to the toxic chemical while in the womb after her mother ate seafood contaminated with methyl mercury. (Kyodo) ==Kyodo

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Victim highlights suffering in event on mercury pollution treaty

Shinobu Sakamoto, a 61-year-old victim of Minamata mercury poisoning, speaks at an event in Geneva, Switzerland, on Sept. 28, 2017, on the sidelines of the first conference of signatory states to an international treaty to prevent mercury pollution. Sakamoto from the southwestern Japan city of Minamata was exposed to the toxic chemical while in the womb after her mother ate seafood contaminated with methyl mercury. (Kyodo) ==Kyodo

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Minamata disease patient in Geneva

On a wheelchair, Shinobu Sakamoto, a Minamata mercury-poisoning disease patient, meets with Indonesian government officials on Sept. 27, 2017, in Geneva. Sakamoto is visiting the Swiss city to attend the first conference of signatory states of an international treaty to protect human health and the environment from mercury pollution. Indonesia faces serious environment and health problems caused by mercury pollution. (Kyodo) ==Kyodo

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Minamata disease patient in Geneva

On a wheelchair, Shinobu Sakamoto, a Minamata mercury-poisoning disease patient, meets with Indonesian government officials on Sept. 27, 2017, in Geneva. Sakamoto is visiting the Swiss city to attend the first conference of signatory states of an international treaty to protect human health and the environment from mercury pollution. Indonesia faces serious environment and health problems caused by mercury pollution. (Kyodo) ==Kyodo

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Minamata disease patient in Geneva

Shinobu Sakamoto (L), a Minamata mercury-poisoning disease patient, gives a video message on Sept. 27, 2017, in Geneva to be aired during a U.N. Environment Programme meeting in December in Nairobi. Sakamoto is visiting the Swiss city to attend the first conference of signatory states of an international treaty to protect human health and the environment from mercury pollution. (Kyodo) ==Kyodo

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Minamata disease patient in Geneva

Shinobu Sakamoto (R), a Minamata mercury-poisoning disease patient, meets with U.N. Environment Programme Deputy Executive Director Ibrahim Thiaw (L) in Geneva on Sept. 25, 2017. Sakamoto is visiting the city to attend the first conference of signatory states of an international treaty to protect human health and the environment from mercury pollution. (Kyodo) ==Kyodo

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Minamata disease patient in Geneva

Shinobu Sakamoto (L), a Minamata mercury-poisoning disease patient, meets with U.N. Environment Programme Deputy Executive Director Ibrahim Thiaw (R) in Geneva on Sept. 25, 2017. Sakamoto is visiting the city to attend the first conference of signatory states of an international treaty to protect human health and the environment from mercury pollution. (Kyodo) ==Kyodo