The Supreme Court's Third Petty Bench, in a 5-0 ruling April 16, upheld a ruling by the Fukuoka High Court that posthumously recognized a woman as a victim of Minamata disease, an industrial pollution-induced paralysis of the central nervous system. Chie Mizoguchi, a resident of Minamata, Kumamoto Prefecture, applied for recognition in 1974, but died in 1977 at age 77. Not until 1995 did the Kumamoto prefectural government officially turn down her application.
The top court said that a court should consider the particular conditions of a potential Minamata disease sufferer regardless of the government's strict criteria. The ruling should be praised for stressing the importance of relief for potential sufferers.
Still, it is difficult to predict that more people like Mizoguchi will easily receive recognition as Minamata disease victims, because the burden on them or their bereaved families to collect medical documents and testimony and to go to court is onerous.