Memorizing Minamata Disease

Most students in Japan know the typical symptom of Minamata disease, remembering photos on school textbooks. Rolled eyes, bent fingers and saliva on lips of patients might be actual images of the disease. Students realize how mercury would destroy an individual forever. Now, the concern made a great step to be shared by the world. To regulate production or trade of mercury, Minamata Treaty was adopted in a meeting of United Nations Environment Programme held in Minamata City, Kumamoto. It may become a warning to the civilization dependent on industry.

In 1950s, a toxic disease was confirmed in Minamata City, which patients had frequently consumed fish caught off the city shore. Investigations assured that those fish are poisoned by waste water with methylmercury discharged into a river by a chemical plant. The disease became a symbol of the negative impact of rapid economic growth in post-war era of Japan. That social problem brought serious dispute over who are responsible for the disease and who should be recognized as victims with eligibility for compensation.

Concerning with industrial development in developing counties, the discussion for restricting use of mercury was on the table for international organizations. In some gold mines, they use mercury for extracting gold from ore. There are reports on disease of mine workers caused by mercury. It is ignorance that makes matters worse. The fact all the world need to realize is poison of mercury eternally remains.

Minamata Treaty prohibits member countries of new development of mercury mine. They will block all trades of nine products, including cosmetics and manometers, that use mercury by 2020. Use of mercury will also be restricted in small gold mines.

However, Japan is one of the exporters of mercury. While European Union and the United States decided embargo of mercury in 2008, Japan exported 84 metric tons of mercury in 2012, which were supposed to be used in some gold mines. The main reason of the exportation has been its scarcity of land for final disposition.

It is not easy for people to be aware of the harm of mercury and its disease. Prime Minister, Shinzo Abe, received strong criticisms from patients, when he said that “Because we had overcome mercury disease, we have responsibility to lead the movement for elimination of mercury.” For the patients, Minamata disease would never be overcome. Imagination of this incurable disease can be crucial for all the people to step forward to the end of that tragic history.