New apparent cases of Minamata disease continue to be found. The government announced it will stop accepting applications for its relief program for victims of the neurological syndrome at the end of July. Confusion surrounding the matter will deepen further if the program does not remain open.
Minamata disease was caused by methyl mercury poisoning due to the discharge of contaminated wastewater into the sea. Symptoms include convulsions and numbness in the limbs.
Officially recognized patients can receive up to 18 million yen ($229,000) in compensation and medical assistance under the relief program.
But strict and complicated criteria are employed for judging whether a potential patient is eligible for the benefits. The criteria are designed for patients with serious conditions, which were mainly discovered in the early stages of Japan's worst case of industrial pollution.
There are, however, many people who have not been recognized as victims of Minamata disease but are suffering from conditions linked to the disease, such as numbness.
Two years ago, the government began to accept applications for relief measures from people living in designated areas and of designated age groups.
Recognized sufferers receive 2.1 million yen in lump-sum payments and other benefits.
So far, more than 58,000 people, mainly in Kumamoto, Kagoshima and Niigata prefectures have applied for the relief program.
Since February, when the government announced the end of July deadline for applications, more than 1,000 people have filed applications every month.
As the deadline approaches, some serious flaws with the system have become visible.
Many parts of the Amakusa region, located on the other side of the Shiranui Sea from the city of Minamata, Kumamoto Prefecture, are excluded from areas designated for relief measures.
But a joint survey by The Asahi Shimbun and doctors who have been trying to find potential patients has shown no significant difference in the ratios of people showing possible symptoms between areas covered by the program and those that are not.
In both designated and undesignated areas, more than 80 percent of people who have received medical checkups showed dull senses in their hands and feet.
Such symptoms were also seen in people outside the designated age groups. These facts suggest the designations don't reflect the actual situation.
Some people would argue that both the government and the company responsible for the public health disaster are unable to move ahead with the efforts to provide relief to victims unless a deadline is set.
Some disturbing facts have come to light, however. In one fishing village, for instance, villagers had agreed to conceal the fact that there are more than a dozen fishermen in their community who are apparently suffering from Minamata disease. They decided to cover up the fact in fear of possible effects on their fishing businesses and discrimination.
The law to provide relief to Minamata disease patients stipulates that "as many victims as possible" should be covered by the program.
Many people are suffering and should be eligible for relief measures.
The scope of the disaster is so wide that there seems to be no end to the efforts to help victims.
The grim picture testifies the dreadful nature of heavy metal poisoning and the enormity of the challenge of dealing with the consequences of such a disaster.
The relief law stresses the need for medical checkups of local residents and surveys to gain more knowledge about the disease.
But the government has yet to conduct the medical checkups of residents needed to reveal the entire picture of the health damage.
Environment Minister Goshi Hosono should confront the reality and change his notice that set the deadline for applications for benefits.
Since many cases of Minamata disease that were widely reported involved extremely acute conditions that caused the patients to die soon after they started showing symptoms, many people are not aware that their health conditions may be due to the disease.
Since the Supreme Court acknowledged that there is a wider range of Minamata disease patients than previously believed, the number of potential patients has kept growing year after year.
Doctors and local residents say the government-set deadline doesn't make sense. This is clearly no time to close the door for relief to Minamata disease victims.
--The Asahi Shimbun, July 20
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