After our breakfast, we headed to Minamata Meomorial Monument. When we reached there, our guide explained briefly about the Minamata disease. The guide told us that Chisso cooperation released methyl mercury to the sea, the fish drank the water with high concentration of mercury causing the Minamata disease. Many people died beacause of the Minamata disease. In 2006, the government built the meomarial for the people who died of Minamata disease.


Next, we headed to Minamata disease Museuem. Firstly, we watched a video on the summary of Minamata disease. Secondly, there was a talk by a victim's family member. She was born in 1950s and she had two family members who had gotten the disease. She told us that her father got the disease before the Minamata disease was confirmed. Her father had symptoms like numbness in hand and feet, diffcult to speak and express his thoughts. So her father stayed in the hospital for one year. As he ate hospital food, he gradually recovered. But when he was discharged from the hospital, he ate the contaminated fish and passed away when she was just 5 years old. Unfortunately, as the disease was not confirmed yet, her family could not get any compensation. One month later, her grandfather also got this disease and he was bedridden. Chisso Company compensated the victim's family members and helped them buy medical insurance. However, this could not bring back the lifes of the family members they had lost. This teaches us that we had to take responsible of our actions and responsible to our envrionment.


Mandy