The Fukuoka High Court ordered the Kumamoto Prefectural Government on Monday to posthumously certify a woman as a Minamata mercury-poisoning victim, overturning a district court ruling.
Presiding Judge Kenji Nishi said the current criteria, formulated in 1977, for recognizing people as sufferers are so "insufficient" that "we can't rule out the possibility that sufferers who would have been certified ended up being excluded."
The ruling could have a profound impact on parties involved in state relief for the disease under a special law, as the July 31 deadline for applying for the relief approaches.