Ceremony marks 60 years since Niigata Minamata disease recognition
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.
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