Bill to offer relief to Minamata patients passes lower house

Saturday 04th July, 04:14 AM JST

TOKYO —

The House of Representatives passed a bill Friday to offer financial relief to as many as 20,000 people suffering from Minamata mercury poisoning in the 1950s and 1960s under eased standards of recognition. Following the lower house passage, which came quickly after a concession was made between the ruling and opposition parties Thursday, the bill is expected to clear the House of Councillors and become law next week. The Environment Ministry seeks to earmark 11.5 billion yen to finance measures stipulated in the bill in the first year of the legislation’s implementation. Chemical maker Chisso Corp., which released mercury-tainted water into the sea from a synthetic resin factory in Minamata, Kumamoto Prefecture, has paid compensation to patients largely depending on loans and other forms of assistance from the state and prefectural governments.

About 30,000 people, mainly in Kumamoto and Kagoshima prefectures, are currently seeking relief. The ministry estimates about 20,000 of them will be eligible for some form of relief. The amount of relief will be subject to further discussion as the ruling Liberal Democratic Party and the New Komeito party plan to set the amount at 1.5 million yen each, while the main opposition Democratic Party of Japan aims for 3 million yen. The three parties agreed to widen the scope of recognized neurological disorders, newly including Minamata victims complaining of four types of symptoms such as systematic sensory impairment.

Kyodo