After 61 years, victims of Minamata disease, Japan's mercury poisoning disaster, seek legal compensation
Minamata disease is a neurological disorder caused by severe mercury poisoning
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Shinobu Sakamoto, a 61-year old congenital Minamata disease patient, and her mother Fujie (left) sit in a car as they head for a hospital in Minamata, in Japan. Minamata disease is a neurological disorder caused by severe mercury poisoning. Reuters
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Sakamoto is one of a shrinking group of survivors from a 1950s industrial disaster in which tens of thousands of people were poisoned after waste water containing methylmercury from a chemical plant seeped into the waters of Minamata bay. At present only 528 of the 3,000 certified victims are alive. Reuters
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The toxic organic compound, methylmercury, can cause severe damage to the brain and nervous system, leading to the Minamata disease. It gives its name to the UN-backed treaty that took effect last month. Reuters
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The symptoms worsen with age, leaving some victims grappling with the question of who will care for them after the death of siblings and parents, while others face legal disputes. Reuters
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Sixty-one years since the disease was identified in 1956, the grim struggles have eased for only a few. People still send in decades-old umbilical cords to be checked for contamination, hoping for evidence to support their claims to be designated as victims. Reuters
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A specimen of a mercury-contaminated fish from 1956. Before the government named methylmercury as its cause in 1968, victims faced discrimination over fears it was contagious, which deterred many from seeking legal recognition. Reuters
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