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Asahi Shimbun
26-06-2025
- Health
- Asahi Shimbun
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.)
The Mainichi
25-06-2025
- Health
- The Mainichi
Japan tutoring firm apologizes over wrongly stating Minamata disease is 'hereditary'
MINAMATA, Kumamoto -- Executives at a major home tutoring operator on June 25 apologized to Kumamoto Mayor Toshiharu Takaoka for an error in online teaching material that incorrectly described Minamata disease as "hereditary." Daigo Kusunose, executive officer at the Tokyo-based Trygroup Inc., and its Kyushu regional headquarters chief Motohiro Ito, visited Minamata city hall. Kusunose stated, "We deeply apologize for the great inconvenience and concern caused to everyone in Minamata and all those affected by Minamata disease due to the teaching material we created." Mayor Takaoka responded, "We believed we were disseminating correct information, so honestly, I am disappointed," adding, "How Trygroup responds from now on is important for both citizens and those who have suffered from the disease." The error appeared in the "Try IT" video lesson service's social studies material for junior high school students. It described cases in which methylmercury consumed by pregnant mothers was passed through the placenta to the fetus, resulting in the children developing Minamata disease, but it incorrectly used the term "hereditary." The material was released via an app in 2015 and has been available on YouTube since 2016. Until it was taken down in May of this year, it had been viewed more than 70,000 times. On the afternoon of June 25, the company executives were also to meet with the "Minamata disease victims and supporters liaison council," made up of Minamata disease patients and victim groups, as well as the "Minamata discrimination and prejudice study group," formed in response to issues such as incorrect descriptions.
Asahi Shimbun
26-05-2025
- Health
- Asahi Shimbun
Apology issued over false lesson on Minamata disease ‘gene'
Trygroup Inc. has removed this false information about Minamata disease. (Captured from Trygroup Inc.'s online education material) After repeated government requests, a home tutoring company apologized for wrongly teaching children that Minamata disease, a neurological disorder caused by mercury poisoning, is hereditary. Trygroup Inc., known for its 'Katei Kyoushi no Try' education service, issued the apology on its website and removed the false information that was presented during an online lecture for junior high school students. 'Minamata-byou Higaisha, Shiensha Renraku Kai,' a group of Minamata disease patients and their supporters, learned about erroneous lecture at the end of April. The group, saying such false information promotes discrimination against Minamata disease victims, asked the Environment Ministry to take action. The group also sent a request to Trygroup to correct its educational materials. According to the group, Trygroup's video lecture was for a junior high school history class as part of its 'Try I' service. The topics in the lecture were the four major pollution-caused illnesses in Japan. 'The most horrible aspect of this (Minamata) disease is its hereditary nature,' the lecture said. 'Pregnant women who developed the disease often passed it on to their babies.' Minamata disease was discovered in the 1950s among residents who consumed marine products tainted with organic mercury discharged from a chemical factory into Minamata Bay, Kumamoto Prefecture. Babies born with the disease were affected by the mercury while in the wombs of their mothers. The disease is not passed down through genes. However, incorrect beliefs about the disease have spread, leading to discrimination against victims of the poisoning and their relatives. Some have been rejected for marriage based only on where they were born. 'There are still patients who suffer from misconceptions and discrimination,' said Ichiro Motoshima, an official of the patients and supporters group. 'The central government should thoroughly educate people to understand the facts.' The Environment Ministry said it sent a request for a correction to Trygroup on May 14, and the company partly corrected the lecture. But the ministry deemed that measure was insufficient and had continued contacting Trygroup until it issued the apology for its false lecture. 'There is no fact that Minamata disease is hereditary. We apologize for the incorrect expression and have corrected that part,' the company said on its website on May 23. The ministry intends to continue seeking an explanation from the company. Similar false information was also spread earlier this year by the city government of Uki in Kumamoto Prefecture A calendar that the municipality distributed to all 23,000 households in Uki at the end of February contained a description that could be interpreted as: 'Minamata and Hansen's diseases are infectious.' The city has since circulated a correction seal for the description to all households and apologized. Minamata disease is not infectious. But in the initial period after its discovery, the cause of the disease was unknown, leading to the mistaken belief that it could be spread from human to human. Hansen's disease, more commonly known as leprosy, has an extremely low level of contagiousness. Currently, it is very rare for a person to become infected with and develop Hansen's disease.
