On May 8, 1968, itai-itai disease (see below), which broke out along the Jinzugawa river in Toyama Prefecture, became the first pollution-induced disease in Japan to be recognized by the government. Half a century later, the five remaining sufferers continue to live with the ravages of its effects.
One patient, a woman in her 90s, lives in a hospital in the city of Toyama. Her diminutive back is bent beneath her light-colored hospital gown. "It's hard to walk. I have to use a cane or hold onto something," she said. She also has difficulty getting around her private room to use the toilet or washstand.
Her case of itai-itai disease was certified in 2006. Due to her brittle bones, she would be completely immobilized by a fracture, so she spends all her time quietly in bed. Her bedside handrails are wrapped with cushions, so that when she grips them, she doesn't break the bones in her hands. Sitting in a chair too forcefully can also result in fractures, so she lowers herself slowly.
Born and raised in the former town of Fuchu (now part of the city of Toyama), where there were multiple outbreaks of itai-itai disease, her mother also suffered from the condition. A family of rice farmers, they drew water from the Jinzugawa river to cool off watermelons and tomatoes before eating them.
"Back then, everyone drank the river water and washed their clothes in it. We also used it to fill our baths. Because we didn't have any public water service," she said.
The toxic substance penetrated deep into their daily lives.
'Full settlement' in 2013
There have been 200 certified cases of itai-itai disease. The majority of sufferers have already passed away, leaving five men and women in their 80s and 90s as of May 1.
The certification of patients is performed once a year by a screening board of 15 doctors. To be certified, a patient must meet all of the following requirements: (1) A history of living in an environment contaminated by cadmium, (2) Adult onset of symptoms, (3) Renal tubule dysfunction and (4) Softening of bones accompanied by osteoporosis.
Certified sufferers are paid compensation of 10 million yen and have all medical costs covered by Mitsui Mining & Smelting Co. The number of sufferers certified has gradually declined, with the last two cases certified in 2015. Two women applied in 2017, but were ruled ineligible because they did not meet requirement No. 4.
In addition to certified sufferers, there are said to be approximately 300 sufferers of cadmium nephropathy, which is considered a precursor condition. To assist these people, victims groups and Mitsui Mining & Smelting reached an agreement in 2013 that the company would pay each person a one-time payment of 600,000 yen. The document included the wording "full settlement."
The Kamioka Mine ceased mining zinc and lead in 2001, and now produces zinc from imported ore and lead from discarded batteries. The concentration of cadmium in the Jinzugawa river is now well below environmental standards.
Bitterness lingers
The amount of land contaminated by cadmium, including farmland, totals roughly 1,500 hectares within the city of Toyama. The national government and other entities conducted soil rehabilitation projects for farmland from 1979 to 2012, which included covering up contaminated soil and laying approximately 40 centimeters of safe soil on top.
While the land has been deemed safe again, lingering negative impressions have left farmers bitter.
"I don't want the past brought up," said Hachiro Hosayama, 76, who owns about 1.5 hectares of rice fields. Hosayama's fields had low levels of contamination even before rehabilitation projects were undertaken. However, when he sent rice from a new crop to relatives, he was told, "The rice on your farm has probably got cadmium in it."
"Once a field is ruined," Hosayama said, "it's not easy to undo."
Sharing knowledge
"In Japan, the four major pollution diseases prompted increased corporate investment in pollution control, and led to us becoming a leader in anti-pollution measures in the world," said University of Toyama Prof. Hideyuki Negishi, who works to teach Indonesian educators about itai-itai disease.
"For developing and emerging countries, pollution is a real and present danger. Sharing Japan's knowledge and experience to prevent pollution in other countries might pay homage to Japanese victims as well," he said.
Passing on the story
During the post-war reconstruction and economic boom spanning the 1960s and 70s, environmental problems such as photochemical smog and sludge intensified across Japan. The four major pollution diseases were symbols of this. Public concern was high, and they came to symbolize the drawbacks of economic growth.
In response to rising public criticism, a total of 14 laws related to pollution, including the revised Basic Law for Environmental Pollution Control, were passed in the 64th extraordinary Diet session in 1970, known as the "Pollution Diet." In 1971, the then Environment Agency was launched, tasked with the centralized administration of pollution and environmental matters.
The four major pollution diseases can be said to have provided the impetus to change course from prioritizing economic growth to emphasizing the importance of the environment.
Each new generation brings more people who are unaware of the conditions when the four major pollution diseases broke out, so finding ways to pass on the story and prevent the memory from fading has become a shared task.
In March of this year, the University of Toyama opened a reference room for itai-itai disease-related materials. The university has performed autopsies on 100 deceased patients, with 10,000 specimens preserved under glass. These will be kept with the aim of aiding experts both inside and outside the country researching health hazards caused by heavy metals.
At the Minamata Disease Municipal Museum in Kumamoto Prefecture, seven people act as "storytellers," including sufferers of the disease. There were once 15, but their number has dwindled due to deaths and for other reasons.
Anticipating the time when the storytellers are all gone, the museum will start this fiscal year a system using "communicators" who did not personally experience the disease. They will read from manuscripts used by the storytellers, and communicate the reality of the damage combined with images.
The Yokkaichi Pollution and Environmental Museum for Future Awareness in Mie Prefecture continues to collect video testimony by sufferers of Yokkaichi asthma, as well as from doctors involved. There were about 40 of them when the museum opened in 2015, but the number has since risen to 59 at present.
Niigata Prefecture and the prefectural board of education have created a collection of teachers' reference materials for use in teaching elementary and junior high school students about Niigata Minamata disease.
Environmental contamination by heavy metals continues to occur around the world. According to the National Institute for Minamata Disease in Kumamoto Prefecture, mercury is used when extracting gold at mines in Brazil, Indonesia, Mongolia and other countries, and there are concerns about river contamination and health hazards for residents in the surrounding areas.
(From The Yomiuri Shimbun, May 8, 2018)
-- Itai-itai disease
Caused by the heavy metal cadmium discharged from the Kamioka Mine operated by Mitsui Mining & Smelting's Kamioka mining station (currently Kamioka Mining and Smelting Co. in Hida, Gifu Prefecture), resulting in kidney disorder and extremely brittle bones. Outbreaks occurred in the area along the Jinzugawa river in Toyama Prefecture, and the then Health and Welfare Ministry recognized it as a pollution-induced disease in 1968. Itai-itai disease, Minamata disease, Niigata Minamata disease and Yokkaichi asthma are collectively referred to as the four major pollution diseases.
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