In the early 1970s, when the country was gripped by student unrest, it was the sight of a sit-in by Minamata disease sufferers outside the headquarters of Chisso Corp. in central Tokyo that gave high schooler Yuta Jitsukawa his cause.
The chemicals company had dumped untreated factory waste into the Shiranui Sea in Minamata Bay, causing mercury poisoning among local residents and triggering what became known as Minamata disease. The protesters were demanding compensation for the victims.
The fact that residents had traveled from far-off Minamata, Kumamoto Prefecture, to the capital "made me think about what I could do for them, rather than discussing revolution or Marxism," Jitsukawa said.