A Minamata disease sufferer suggested at a citizens' gathering Sunday that the government has learned little from the mercury-poisoning disease and repeated bungles in tackling the Fukushima nuclear crisis.
"People found crows and doves unable to fly in the coastal areas of Minamata, while livestock such as pigs and chickens died after eating fish entrails in the early 1950s," Takeshi Sugimoto said in a speech at the meeting in Tokyo. "And handicapped babies were born in the areas."
They were apparently contaminated with mercury-laced water dumped by chemical maker Chisso Corp. into Minamata Bay, which led health authorities to officially recognize Minamata disease on May 1, 1956.