A Chisso Corp. affiliate has fired an employee for allegedly embezzling ¥300 million linked to Chisso's redress payments for Minamata disease, sources said Friday.
The affiliate, JNC Fibers Corp., is expected to file a criminal complaint with the Shiga Prefectural Police against the former employee, who is suspected of pocketing the money by booking fictitious transactions over nine years since 2004, they said.
JNC Fibers, which produces unwoven fabrics and composite fibers in Shiga, is a subsidiary of JNC Corp., which took over chemical and other business operations from Chisso under a special law implemented in 2009.
Chisso, the company responsible for causing the mercury-poisoning disease by dumping tainted water into the Ariake Sea, uses profits from JNC group companies to compensate Minamata disease victims.