The state will file with the Supreme Court today an appeal against a ruling by the Osaka High Court ordering it to compensate victims of Minamata disease, according to government sources.
Today is the deadline for filing an appeal, a move that would dash the hopes of dozens of victims for an end to the case.
On April 27, the high court ruled that the central and Kumamoto Prefectural governments and a chemical firm pay 320 million yen in damages to sufferers of Minamata disease and to families of victims who have died.