Major Japan tutoring firm sorry for false claim on Minamata disease
A major Japanese tutoring company has recently apologized for inaccurately describing the Minamata mercury-poisoning disease as hereditary in its online study material, a description that drew strong public criticism.
The false claim appeared in a video lesson for junior high school students from the firm's "Try IT" online service, which explained cases of infants developing the disease via mercury exposure through the placenta but wrongly called the condition "inherited."
Trygroup Inc., the operator of the nationwide home tutoring service Try, said in a statement available on its website Sunday, "We apologize for the inaccurate phrasing and have corrected it," adding the lesson video has already been taken offline.
Following the revelation of the misinformation, a group comprising patients and victims of Minamata disease, as well as the Environment Ministry, urged the company to make corrections.
Minamata disease is a neurological disorder caused by mercury poisoning. It affected thousands of people who unknowingly consumed seafood contaminated with mercury in areas around Minamata Bay in Kumamoto Prefecture on the southwestern main island of Kyushu.
In 1968, the Japanese government recognized that mercury in wastewater from a local chemical plant was responsible for the illness.
Related coverage:
FEATURE: Minamata disease photo collection strikes chords of tragedy
Japan minister apologizes for interrupting Minamata victims' remarks
Japan court orders compensation to 26 unrecognized Minamata victims
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