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Japan Times
3 days ago
- General
- Japan Times
Ceremony marks 60 years since Niigata Minamata disease recognition
A ceremony to mark the 60th anniversary of the official recognition of Niigata Minamata disease, a neurological disorder caused by polluted industrial wastewater containing methylmercury, took place in the city of Niigata. At the ceremony, held on Saturday, about 300 people observed a moment of silence for the victims. The participants included patients, bereaved families, Environment Minister Keiichiro Asao and representatives from chemical maker Showa Denko, currently Resonac Holdings, the operator of the plant that was the source of the pollution. It was the first time in 10 years for an environment minister to attend the ceremony. "Niigata Minamata disease is not over yet," Eiichi Minagawa, 81, the lead plaintiff in a lawsuit filed by uncertified patients against the government and the plant operator company, said in an address. Noting that the plaintiffs are aging, Minagawa said, "We sincerely hope that (the lawsuit) will be settled while we are still alive and are able to walk." Chieko Furuyama, 60, the only person in the prefecture certified as suffering from fetal Minamata disease, said in writing: "You made me like this and what are you going to do about it? Please help me to live my life from now on." Environment minister Asao said, "We will share our experiences and lessons from Minamata disease with the world and work toward the realization of a society without environmental pollution and health damage by mercury." Before and after the ceremony, representatives from groups of Niigata Minamata disease victims held talks with Asao and demanded a revision of the patient certification criteria. Niigata Minamata disease was officially recognized on May 31, 1965, about nine years after the recognition of a similar disease in Kumamoto Prefecture known as Minamata disease. According to the Niigata Prefectural Government, as of the end of April, 2,767 applications had been filed for certification as sufferers of the disease. Of the applicants, 717 were officially recognized as sufferers and 57 were waiting for screening results. Unrecognized patients have filed lawsuits against the government and the plant operator company since 1967. Currently, the fifth lawsuit of this kind, filed in 2013, is ongoing in Niigata District Court and Tokyo High Court.
3 days ago
- Health
Ceremony Marks 60 Yrs since Niigata Minamata Disease Recognition
Niigata, June 1 (Jiji Press)--A ceremony to mark the 60th anniversary of the official recognition of Niigata Minamata disease, a neurological disorder caused by polluted industrial wastewater containing methylmercury, took place in the city of Niigata, the capital of the namesake prefecture in central Japan. At the ceremony, held on Saturday, about 300 people observed a moment of silence for the victims. The participants included patients, bereaved families, Environment Minister Keiichiro Asao and representatives from chemical maker Showa Denko K.K., currently Resonac Holdings Corp., the operator of the plant that was the source of the pollution. It was the first time in 10 years for an environment minister to attend the ceremony. "Niigata Minamata disease is not over yet," Eiichi Minagawa, 81, the lead plaintiff in a lawsuit filed by uncertified patients against the government and the plant operator company, said in an address. Noting that the plaintiffs are aging, Minagawa said, "We sincerely hope that (the lawsuit) will be settled while we are still alive and are able to walk." [Copyright The Jiji Press, Ltd.]
Japan Times
01-05-2025
- Health
- Japan Times
Victims mourned 69 years after Minamata disease recognition
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. Some 660 people, including patients, bereaved families, Environment Minister Keiichiro Asao and Keizo Yamada, president of Chisso Corp., which released the wastewater, attended the ceremony in Minamata, a city in Kumamoto Prefecture. Minoru Sugimoto, 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." At a meeting last year, an Environment Ministry official cut off the microphone to interrupt patients' remarks, causing an uproar. 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.
Japan Today
26-04-2025
- Business
- Japan Today
Japan's FY2023 greenhouse gas emissions hit record low for 2nd year
Japan's greenhouse gas emissions fell to a record low in fiscal 2023 for the second straight year on the back of reduced manufacturing activity and a greater share for renewable and nuclear energy in power generation, the government said. National emissions in the year through March 2024 totaled 1.07 billion tons of carbon dioxide equivalent, down 4 percent from fiscal 2022 and marking the lowest level since comparable data became available in fiscal 1990. The decline was mainly attributable to renewable and nuclear energy accounting for over 30 percent of Japan's power generation and lower energy consumption and industrial production, Environment Ministry officials said. Japan has set a goal of net-zero greenhouse gas emissions by 2050 by subtracting CO2 absorption by forests, aiming to reduce emissions by 60 percent in fiscal 2035 and 73 percent in fiscal 2040, compared with fiscal 2013. Emissions in fiscal 2023 marked a 27.1 percent drop from fiscal 2013, with officials saying the country is on track to achieve the goal. In fiscal 2023, emissions fell 4.0 percent from fiscal 2022 in the manufacturing sector, while household emissions were down 6.8 percent, likely due to a warmer winter. "Emission reduction is on the right track but only halfway through," Environment Minister Keiichiro Asao said in a press conference, stressing the need for continued efforts by both the public and the private sectors. The ministry reported the emission data to the secretariat of the U.N. Framework Convention on Climate Change. © KYODO
