GOVERNMENT ACTIVITIES

Activities to Raise Awareness about Minamata Disease by the Government

Unfortunately, incidents of discrimination and bullying against children from the Minamata and Ashikita regions on school trips and at places of employment have not yet completely disappeared. How can this problem be eliminated? The only way to do this is to spread correct knowledge about Minamata disease in society. In Kumamoto Prefecture, all fifth-grade students visit the Minamata Disease Municipal Museum to learn about the disease. There are also programs in which schools invite victims of Minamata disease or their supporters as lecturers to deliver classes. The government has supported these efforts. The government and victims, who were previously adversaries, are now cooperating in educational activities.

Minamata Disease Municipal Museum

The museum opened to the public in 1993 with the aim of promoting a correct understanding of the history and the current state of Minamata disease. The exhibit remained unchanged for more than 20 years, but in 2016, 60 years after the official recognition of the disease, it was completely renovated. The purpose of the renovation was to make the exhibit more accessible to elementary and middle school students, and to make it easier to accommodate group visitors. More important than these changes, however, was the inclusion of some exhibits on the experiences of victims, something that had never been done before. This was made possible through discussions between the victims’ families, their supporters, and the administration during expert meetings for the renovation of the exhibits, where I was present.

Hill of Learning

In the “Hill of Learning” area where the Minamata Disease Municipal Museum is located, there are two other exhibition facilities. One is the Kumamoto Prefectural Center of Environmental Education and Information, which opened in 1993. It is a center for information and learning about environmental issues, where visitors can learn about water environmental issues, waste issues, global warming, etc. The renovations to the exhibits in 2019 have enhanced the experience corner and attractions. The other is the Minamata Disease Information Center of the Ministry of the Environment, which opened in 2001. This facility collects and provides materials and information on Minamata disease, and visitors can learn in detail about the history of the investigation into the causes of Minamata disease and the environmental pollution caused by mercury.

Educational Programs Promoted by Kumamoto Prefecture

Kumamoto Prefecture is engaged in various projects to disseminate information about Minamata disease and to promote an understanding of the disease. The two projects shown in the photos are school visit programs for high school students in collaboration with Soshisha, and educational programs for teachers in collaboration with For-By-With Minamata. It is difficult for teachers to deal with the ongoing issues of Minamata disease in their classes. Therefore, organizations familiar with Minamata disease issues have become partners and visit schools and educational offices to support education on Minamata disease, discrimination, and bullying through lectures and workshops.

Minamata Box

For-By-With Minamata received a grant from the Kumamoto Prefectural Foundation for the Regional Development to produce this box as a teaching aid for classes. The MINPAKU study kit “Min-pack” was also used as a reference during the production stage. Three sets of boxes have been deposited at each education office in Kumamoto Prefecture, and will be loaned to schools free of charge. Inside the kits are snail shells, pebbles, sea glass, Styrofoam, and other items picked up from the sea in Myojin, along with an instruction manual. Rimiko, one of the creators of the box, said, “We want people to realize that the sea was also a victim of Minamata disease.”

Storytellers’ Talk

In Minamata the “kataribe (storyteller)” means a person who shares his or her experiences of Minamata disease with future generations. In a narrower sense, storytellers are victims or family members commissioned by the city to talk at the Minamata Disease Municipal Museum. Although storyteller talks are very popular, the number of storytellers is decreasing each year. It is currently difficult to recruit new storytellers, so in 2018, the Minamata city started a program in which “tsutaete (conveyors)” give talks instead, conveying the experiences of the victims and sharing their own thoughts. Toshio and Endo are the conveyors.

Rimiko YOSHINAGA

As a child, Rimiko always hated talking about Minamata disease. She continued to hide the existence of her family members’ suffering from Minamata disease. About 30 years ago, she read a book and learned about the history of Minamata disease and began to think about her father, who died of the disease. She felt as if her father had said to her, “You discriminated against Minamata disease victims the most, and that is why you hid the fact that your family had Minamata disease.” She then began to talk about her family’s illness in public. Twenty-five years after becoming a storyteller, she now wants to “talk about the feelings of those who died of Minamata disease” and “tell children about the importance of life.”

Aiichiro KAWAMOTO

Aiichiro is the eldest son of Teruo Kawamoto, who led the independent negotiations with Chisso, and was known as a “fighter.” When the mayor asked Aiichiro to be a storyteller in 2008, he decided to become one because he felt that he had to face the Minamata disease incident himself. He said to me, “Watching my father’s way of life, I learned to express my will at every milestone in my life, even if it is difficult, and I want to pass that on to others.” He may appear to be a soft-spoken, laidback person, but he has the same fighting spirit as his father.

Hajime SUGIMOTO

His family was the head of the fisherperson’s group. Since his grandparents and parents were both in and out of the hospital because of Minamata disease, he helped with fishing from an early age and took care of his four younger brothers. After graduating from high school, he moved to Tokyo to work, but returned home at the age of 32 to become a fisherman. When he was 48 years old, his mother, who had been a storyteller, passed away and he became a storyteller himself. He says, “People of my generation were not taught about Minamata disease. That is why there was discrimination and bullying. I want to share my experience so that children can proudly say where they come from.”