We must recognize honestly that we have committed grand mistakes in the historical process of the
Minamata disease affair. These mistakes included structural ones such as the ideal way of the
administration and business activities.
Outbreaks of Minamata disease were derived from the structure of modern society in which the
development of scientific technology and chemical substances was continued in pursuit of the development
and convenience of industry.
Environment certainly continues to send signals of the risk to us, but we neglected them and did not
conduct any effective contermeasure against the spread of damages. The subsequent accurate follow-up
was not conducted, either. These situations resulted in irreparable damages to the inhabitants’ health and
induced deadly environmental disruption. Moreover, the tragedy was repeated twice.
The most rigid lessons obtained from Minamata disease are as follows: On the ground of scientific
disputes about decision of the pollution source and the causative factor for the disease, it took 12 years for
the Governmental policy to have been politically and socially decided, because the relations in the
competence among ministries and offices also became a difficulty in the decision, and pollution and
damages spread during the period, inducing further outbreaks of the second Minamata disease.
The causative companies were uncooperative in inspection of the cause, and concealed facts. The
companies and industry were protected by the chemical industry world and MITI with authorities of the
academic world. It becomes a serious problem what roles the Governmental and local administrations,
politics, the public prosecutors office, and the mass media played in a series of these acts.