Government Must Save All Minamata Victims More and More Victims Discovered 1400 Turn up for Minamata disease checkup

On February 3, 2012, the government announced that it would stop accepting applications for relief measures based on the “Law Regarding Special Measures for Minamata Disease Patients”. It is an attempt to close a curtain on the official measures to save the victims. In response to this move, Minamata patients organizations and Min-Iren workers and doctors held large-scale Minamata disease checkup in 6 venues in Kumamoto and Kagoshima

Despite downpour of rain, the waiting room of Minamata Kyoritsu Hospital was full of patients one hour before the start of the examination. Included among them were many from the places outside Minamata disease designated areas such as Amakusa and Izumi cities. Among 1,397 people who took the examination, 89% of them showed the symptoms specific to Minamata disease, and therefore could be diagnosed as having Minamata disease.

Great courage is necessary to undergo checkup
A 74-year-old man from Izumo City took the examination accompanied by his wife. For the last 25 years he had such symptoms as numbness of fingertips, leg cramps or stumbling easily, but he has been reluctant to consult a doctor, as he was concerned about how he would appear to others in the community. His wife said she also had similar symptoms as numbness and leg cramps. Asked if she would also take the examination, she said reluctantly, “No. I think I am OK… Maybe I would consider having it after my husband’s checkup is completed”. A woman who accompanied her mother (91 years old from Minamata) said, “So far, I have not been able to take my mother to such a health examination, as my son and daughter used to stop me, saying, ‘It’s embarrassing.” Knowing that the application for relief measures would soon be closed, she persuaded her children and brought her mother here today. “I know there are more people in my neighborhood who would still be reluctant to take the examination, concerned with appearances. I do hope the government would not stop the relief measures but open the way for saving all the victims.”
In the past, Minamata patients were treated as having “strange disease” or “contagious disease” and suffered discrimination. Such a prejudice still holds Minamata patients back from consulting a doctor.

Lobbying the Ministry of Environment
Before the large-scale examination, on May 30, Min-Iren, Hodanren (Japanese Medical and Dental Practitioners for Improvement of Medical Care) and Shiranui Patients Association jointly urged the Ministry of Environment to “extend the deadline for application and conduct health and environmental study on the neighboring regions of the designated areas”.
The response from the Ministry of Environment was perfunctory: “Relief measures should be taken early within a fixed time-frame. For this purpose we calculated necessary time for diagnosis and screening before the recognition of the disease is fixed, and have come up with the certain period for accepting applications. We are doing our best to publicize and make the scheme known as widely as possible. We encourage the people who are concerned about the possible symptoms to take heart and overcome discrimination or prejudice and submit their applications.”
Dr. Fujino Tadashi (President emeritus of Minamata Kyoritu Hospital) expressed his anger, saying, “I strongly doubt if the government is really serious about saving the victims. They say, ‘Take heart’, but those victims are already having a strong fear about the possibility of having Minamata disease. Fearing the discrimination and prejudices, some people even try to hide the fact that they are ill. The government is very indifferent about understanding the real situation.”

Abandoning the victims is unacceptable
Dr. Fujino says, “We continue holding the examination bearing in mind the July 30 deadline, but I doubt if all the victims will submit applications”, “There are many more people who are still unaware of being Minamata patients or who are worried about suffering discrimination or prejudices. Stopping to accept applications at the end of July is just unacceptable.”