Editorial: Broader relief for Niigata Minamata disease patients urgently needed

The Niigata District Court has handed down a ruling recognizing 26 of 45 plaintiffs as sufferers of Minamata disease and ordering a company responsible for the pollution-induced illness to pay a total of over 100 million yen (approx. $647,000) in compensation.

Residents along the Agano River running through Niigata Prefecture, central Japan, suffered numbness in their limbs and sensory disorders after consuming local river fish. The conditions were triggered by methylmercury contained in wastewater from a factory upstream run by former Showa Denko K.K., currently known as Resonac Holdings Corp.

Similar lawsuits have been filed with a total of four district courts in the country, and the Niigata court ruling is the third among them. The two earlier verdicts found relief measures for Minamata disease victims insufficient. The latest ruling bears grave significance.

The Niigata court recognized people who had previously been ineligible for the Japanese government’s Minamata disease sufferer relief payments, following in the footsteps of the Osaka and Kumamoto district court rulings in September 2023 and March 2024, respectively. These and the latest verdict raised questions about the government’s claims regarding the criteria for judging whether applicants are Minamata disease patients.

The plaintiffs developed the health issues more than 20 years ago. While the statute of limitations, under which the right to claim compensation expires in 20 years after the illegal acts took place, became a point of contention, the Niigata court didn’t apply the rule to the plaintiffs.

In many cases, Minamata disease sufferers cannot come forward in fear of discrimination and prejudice from those around them. The Niigata court focused on this fact in issuing the appropriate ruling.

Niigata Minamata disease was officially recognized in 1965, nine years after similar mercury poisoning was confirmed in Kyushu, southwest Japan. The plaintiffs argued that, had the government taken steps during that period, it could have curbed further damage. The ruling, however, dismissed this claim, saying, “The damage was unforeseeable.”

While the verdict ruled out the government’s responsibility for compensation, it does not mean the state was exonerated for its response to the environmental disease.

If people are recognized as patients under the Act on Compensation for Pollution-related Health Damage, they are entitled to certain amounts of compensation. Due to the strict recognition criteria, however, many people were left unrecognized as Minamata disease sufferers.

For this reason, a special measures law for the relief of Minamata disease victims was introduced in 2009, extending the scope of assistance.

Nevertheless, eligible victims were determined by residential areas and age. Applications for lump-sum money and medical benefits were discontinued in a little over two years.

The government should review the recognition criteria under the pollution disease compensation law and resume the benefit payments under the special measures law. It is also necessary to quickly conduct a health survey to keep track of the actual status of the damage caused.

People who have complained of health damage from the contamination are aging. The number of plaintiffs in the lawsuits filed with the four district courts alone totals around 1,700. It is urgently needed to expand the scope of damage relief.