Minamata Chronology
This chronology shows a history of the Minamata area regarding Minamata disease from the Meiji era to the present. Each item/event is given a reference to its source.
Abbreviations of reference sources
- AC: Ayumi Chronology
- The Editorial Committee of the Shin Nippon Chisso Labor Union’s photo collection (Jan. 2006).
The 59-year Footsteps of the Shin Nippon Chisso Labor Union We Created and Battled - KB: Kukaku Binran
- Kumamoto Women’s College Research Institute of Regional Culture (1985). Shirakawa-ken ka Kukaku Binran (Handbook Zoning in Shirakawa-ken). Collection of History of Kumamoto prefecture No. 3
- Kumanichi: Kumamoto Nichinichi Shimbun (Newspaper)
- Kumamoto Nichinichi Shimbun Co., Ltd.
- CH: City History
- Minamata city (Oct. 1991). New History of Minamata City
- SH: Short History
- Takamine, Takeshi (March. 2008). Short History of Minamata Disease, Booklet of Minamata Disease No.6, Kumamoto Nichi Nichi Shimbun Newspaper
- GS: General Survey
- General Survey of Shin Nihon Chisso Hiryo Projects (July, 1937). The New Japan Nitrogenous Fertilizer Company (Nippon Chisso Hiryo K.K.)
- CMD: Chronology of Minamata Disease
- Arima, Sumio (Jan. 1979). Minamata Disease The 20-year Study and Assignment Today about Minamata Disease, Seirinsha
| 1967 | Jun.-- | The Niigata Minamata disease patients, who were officially recognized on May 31, 1965, file a lawsuit with the Niigata District Court, seeking payment for their pain and suffering. CH vol. 2 p. 832 |
|---|---|---|
| 1967 | Aug.-- | Chisso announces the 5-year plan of the Minamata factory conducting 1,500 job cuts from 1968 to 1972. AC |
| 1967 | Dec.-- | The amount of tax paid by Chisso is decreased. The percentage of the total amount of city tax becomes 22% as compared to 48.5 % in 1960. CH vol. 2 p. 865 |
| 1968 | Jan.10 | Minamata city establishes a committee for inviting plants since the streamlining by Chisso fostered population outflow. In 1969, Yamaguchi Seisakusho Ltd. (vinyl chloride) and Shiraishi Kogyo Kaisha Ltd. (lime production) expand their business to the city. CH vol. 1 p. 706 |
| 1968 | Jan.12 | Thirty six people gather and establish the Citizens' Council for Minamata Disease Countermeasures (Minamatabyo-taisaku Shimin-kaigi) at Minamata City Education Center. The president is Fumiko Hiyoshi. Later, the name is changed to the Citizens' Council on Minamata Disease (Minamatabyo Shimin-kaigi). CH vol. 2 p. 805 SH p. 33 |
| 1968 | Apr.1 | Minamata city completes the fourth change of some names and districts of its towns in Minamata city. The first one was conducted in 1965. It used to consist of 115 towns, but now it has 67 towns. CH vol. 1 p. 707 |
| 1968 | May.18 | The Chisso's factory of Minamata stops its production of acetaldehyde made with the acetylene process. CH vol. 2 p. 865 |
| 1968 | Aug.30 | The Shin Nihon Chisso Labor Union at the 31st regular meeting adopts a resolution called the 'shame declaration', saying that it is shameful that the union members have done nothing for Minamata disease, but now they stand up for the sufferers of Minamata disease. AC |
| 1968 | Sept.26 | The government concludes that Minamata disease in Kumamoto was caused by methylmercury compounds produced in the acetaldehyde acetic acid facility of Shin Nitchitsu's Minamata factory. The disease is recognized as a pollution-related disease. CH vol. 1 p. 711, vol. 2 p. 832. |
| 1968 | Dec.15 | The Association for a Better Minamata (Minamata o Yokusuru-kai) is established in an effort to support Minamata disease patients and their families. It aims at supporting a campaign for reducing pollution, advancing measures for sufferers, and working against downsizing of the Minamata factory on the pretext of city development. AC |
| 1969 | Apr.5 | The Committee of Compensation Management for Minamata Disease, the Ministry of Health and Welfare requests that patients produce a confirmation saying that they will support the conclusion of the committee. On this day, they split into two differing factions: a group for leaving everything entirely up to the committee and a group for negotiating directly with Chisso. CH vol. 2 p. 832 |
| 1969 | Apr.20 | In response to the patients' movements suing Chisso for damages, an association for bringing charge of causing Minamata disease, named the Associations to Indict [Those Responsible for] Minamata Disease (Minamata-byo o Kokuhatsusuru-kai) is established in Kumamoto. The president is Keikichi Honda. Accordingly, the association becomes a nationwide organization. SH p. 38 CMD |
| 1969 | Jun.14 | Those who sought direct negotiations with Chisso, 112 people from 28 families, file suit with the Kumamoto District Court against Chisso to ask for 640 million yen (1,588 million yen eventually) as payment for pain and suffering from Minamata disease. It is the beginning of the first Minamata disease lawsuit. CH vol. 2 p. 835 |
| 1969 | Aug.8 | Chisso announces a plan of shrinking the workforce by 688 employees for downsizing of factory operation. On November 16, seventy three members of the Shin Nihon Chisso Labor Union are told to stand by at home. The members went on a 24-hour strike. All of them return to work on December 22, 1970. AC |
| 1969 | Dec.15 | Law Concerning Special Measures for the Relief of the Pollution-related Disease is enacted and followed by an establishment of Pollution-related Health Damage Compensation Grievance Board. CH vol. 2 p. 833 |
| 1970 | May.27 | The group which chose to leave things entirely up to the committee signs a following compensation agreement with Chisso. A lump-sum payment for each deceased patient: 1.7 million - 4 million yen, for each survivor: 800,000 - 2,200,000 yen, as his/her pension: 170,000 - 380,000 yen each. The agreement doesn't refer to any corporate responsibility. CH vol. 2 p. 836 |
| 1970 | Jul.23 | Chisso announces the change of the number of downsizing employees from 1,508 to 930 so as to keep the factory in existence. From 1970 to 1971, many employees are transferred to Goi, Noda, Moriyama, Mizushima and other locations. AC |
| 1970 | Aug.17 | Nine people (7 in Kumamoto, 2 in Kagoshima) whose applications were rejected by the Pollution-related Health Damage Compensation Grievance Board, request an administrative appeal from the Health and Welfare Minister. The chief of the Environmental Agency, which was established on July 1, dissolves its discontinuance on August 7th in 1971. CH vol. 2 p. 833 |
| 1970 | Nov.-- | The Association for a Better Minamata (Minamata o Yokusuru-kai) collects 19,084 signatures against the downsizing of Chisso's Minamata factory. In December, the Shin Nihon Chisso Labor Union ensures its right to strike against the factory's downsizing and cutting jobs. AC |
| 1971 | Mar.-- | Chisso announces a plan of conversion of work-positions for some start-up business companies, and switches the employees to the following companies: 190 to Shin-ei Plywood, 30 to Polypack, 22 to Central, and 17 to Shinko Machinery. Among them, 152 employees are the Shin Nihon Chisso Labor Union members and 107 are the New Labor Union members SH p. 42 |
| 1971 | Jul.1 | The Environment Agency is launched. On August 7, the chief of the Environment Agency reviews cases where either Kumamoto or Kagoshima prefecture rejected 9 people's appeals for a certificate of Minamata disease, and nullifies the prefectures' decisions. CH vol. 2 p. 833 |
| 1971 | Oct.11 | Minamata disease patients are certified by the chief of the Environment Agency, and they start negotiating directly with Chisso, but they don't reach an arrangement. After this, they stage a sit-in protest outside the factory as well as inside and outside the head office in Tokyo. The negotiation is extended. CH vol. 2 p. 833 |
| 1971 | Nov.14 | The Council for Minamata Pollution Control, which is critical of the newly certified patients, and some citizens set up the Liaison Conference for Setting Minamata Alight (Minamata o Akarukusuru Shimin Renraku Kaigi) and work for an alternative solution of the compensation problems and the change of the disease name: Minamata disease. CH vol. 2 p. 834 |
| 1971 | Dec.6 | The group requesting direct negotiation with Chisso begins a sit-in protest in front of the head office to demand a direct negotiation with the president, Shimada. The protest continues for another year and a half. SH p. 46 CMD |
| 1972 | Mar.16 | At the first lawsuit in the Kumamoto District Court, five members of the Shin Nihon Chisso Labor Union as the witnesses are called by the plaintiff to give testimony. AC |
| 1972 | Apr.13 | The Shin Nihon Chisso Labor Union presents the following requests to Chisso. 1) Correct the company's inhumane treatment 2) Stop firings of employees 3) Take responsibility and give the patients' families enough compensation. AC |
| 1972 | Jun.5 | The Minamata disease patients including Shinobu Sakamoto take part in UN Conference on the Human Environment in Stockholm, Sweden. They present the actual situation of the sufferers and let the world know about Minamata disease. SH p. 48 |
| 1973 | Jan.20 | At the second lawsuit, 141 Minamata disease patients and their families demand 1.68 billion yen as compensation from Chisso. The main issue in the case is the features of the disease. SH p. 49 CMD |
| 1973 | Mar.20 | In the first Minamata disease lawsuit, the Kumamoto District Court admits the corporate responsibility and adjudges Chisso pays 973 million yen totally as the monetary damages: 18 million yen to each deceased patients, 1.8 to 1.6 million yen to each survivors. CH vol. 2 p. 835 |
| 1973 | Apr.5 | In the spring offensive, the Shin Nihon Chisso Labor Union submitted a request including correcting the discrimination in retirement pay. The Union members scatter the leaflets around the head office in Tokyo and some other places on 17th, around the Ministry of International Trade and Industry and the Finance Ministry on 19th. In front of the head office, they stage a sit-in as well. AC |
| 1973 | Apr.27 | Environmental Dispute Coordination Commission accepts some applications of the newly certified patients and offers the same amount of compensation payment: 20,000 - 60,000 yen for pension, the treatment cost, the care costs and the funeral cost, as a mediation plan. Both agree on the settlement. CH vol. 2 p. 836 |
| 1973 | Jul.9 | The plaintiffs of the first lawsuit and the group of the direct negotiation seek for the future compensation by Chisso. The chief of the Environment Agency serves as a mediator and they sign a compensation agreement with Chisso. It induces the sharp increase of those who apply for certificate of Minamata disease. CH vol. 2 p. 837 SH p. 59 |
| 1973 | Sept.28 | Minamata city gathers signatures to change the name of the disease: Minamata disease. Eventually 72% of the voters sign. In October, the mayor and concerned parties request the chief of the Environment Agency to change the designation of Minamata disease. CH vol. 2 p. 867, p. 1260. |
| 1973 | Oct.20 | The Shin Nihon Chisso Labor Union file a complaint suit with the Local Labor Relations Commission to stop the factory's unfair labor practices such as the discrimination in occupational ability, wage and lump-sum payment, against the Union members. In March and April in 1974, the Union goes on strike intermittently. AC |
| 1974 | Jan.10 | Kumamoto prefecture finishes setting the partition nets by 17th in order to trap the fish contaminated by mercury in Minamata Bay. After that, the fish in the Bay are caught, put in drums and discarded. SH p. 62 CMD |
| 1974 | Oct.29 | The Shin Nihon Chisso Labor Union and Chisso sign the agreement that: 1) Establishes a trust relationship between the two 2) Promise of no discrimination between the first and the second union 3) The amount of the retirement pay for the employees of Chisso Kaihatsu Corporation who were transferred from Chisso is the same as the employees of Chisso. The mediator is Noboru Baba. AC |
| 1975 | May.14 | Minamata disease patients and bereaved families numbering 114 accuse the Chisso's executives of bodily harm and murder. The Kumamoto District Public Prosecutors Office files charges of professional negligence resulting in the death against the ex-president and the ex-factory director on May 4, 1976. In 1988, they are judged guilty. Ch. vol. 2 p. 888 SH p. 65 CMD |
| 1975 | Aug.7 | Two members of the special committee on pollution control of the prefectural assembly, who make a representation to the Environment Agency, claim that there are many fake patients of Minamata disease. It comes to an issue. Later, some certification applicants sue them for slander. SH p. 64 CMD |
| 1975 | Sept.22 | The Shin Nihon Chisso Labor Union and Chisso sign an agreement saying that wage disparities between the first and the second union will be rectified by April in 1977; the employees switched to Chisso Kaihatsu Corporation will be pulled back within 3 years of April in 1977. AC |
| 1976 | Mar.13 | A mass meeting is held in Minamata against abandoning Minamata disease patients and workpeople. Kanson Arahata and Yoshiro Hoshino make speeches. CMD |
