6 days ago
Tutoring firm apologizes for Minamata disease falsity
Executives from the private tutoring company Trygroup Inc. apologize to victims of Minamata disease for spreading misinformation on June 25 in Minamata, Kumamoto Prefecture. (Kengo Hiyoshi)
MINAMATA, Kumamoto Prefecture—Senior officials from Trygroup Inc. have formally apologized for streaming educational materials that falsely claimed Minamata disease, a pollution-related illness associated with the city, is hereditary.
Daigo Kusunose, the private tutoring company's executive officer, and Kyushu regional manager Motohiro Ito visited the city on June 25.
'We sincerely apologize for the unacceptable description,' Kusunose told members of 'Minamata-byou Higaisha, Shiensha Renraku Kai,' a group of Minamata disease patients and their supporters.
'Hearing the disease described as genetic brought back painful memories of a childhood marked by discrimination,' a patient responded.
Earlier in the day, the two executives also met with Minamata Mayor Toshiharu Takaoka to apologize.
Minamata disease is a severe neurological disorder first identified in the 1950s that is regarded as the most notorious pollution-related illness in modern Japan.
It was discovered among residents who had consumed contaminated seafood after a chemical factory released organic mercury into Minamata Bay. The incorrect assumption the disease is hereditary stems from cases where pregnant women ate contaminated fish and the mercury affected their unborn children.
The unsubstantiated information appeared in a video lesson geared toward junior high school students from Trygroup's 'Try It' online education service. The lesson covered the four major pollution-related diseases in Japanese history.
According to the company, the video was available on its Try It app from 2015 to 2021 and on YouTube from 2016 until as recently as last month. The app version was accessed an estimated 7,000 times, and the YouTube video received over 70,000 views.
The Environment Ministry said it reached out to Trygroup with a request to correct the lecture on May 14. Locals had previously contacted both entities on the issue.
The ministry then deemed the company's partial correction insufficient and continued to follow up.
Trygroup has since posted a written apology on its website and uploaded a full correction and apology on YouTube.
It also organized training sessions for all 1,500 employees using official materials on Minamata disease from the Environment Ministry and Kumamoto Prefecture.
The company plans to hold another session in July spotlighting a survivor of the disease to provide a firsthand account.
However, some members of the patient group criticized the company for relying on government documents in its training, given their decades-long legal battle with the authorities for recognition and compensation.
Others expressed a willingness to collaborate on new, accurate educational materials moving forward.
This is not the first time misinformation about Minamata disease has caused a public backlash.
In February, officials in Uki, a municipality within the prefecture, distributed a calendar to all 23,000 households in the area that falsely described Minamata disease as infectious.
Yuta Jitsukawa, director of the nonprofit Minamata Forum, which works to preserve the legacy of the environmental disaster, warned of the risk of historical amnesia.
'When people are simply told to memorize facts, they eventually forget,' he said. 'To prevent that, we must find ways to tell the story that leave a lasting impression.'
(This article was written by Kenji Imamura and Ryutaro Ito.)
