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** Describe the impact the disaster had on the environment and people. ** The number of people who have the Minamata Disease was over 3,000. It has taken them over thirty years to be paid for the disaster that was caused by the Chisso Corporation.

In the year 1993, the Japanese courts were still determining appropriate compensation for the victims, who have lost their lives, or suffered the physical and emotional pain of this disease. The degree of impact was high. The years of mercury dumping were very costly to Chisso Corporation and the town of Minamata. The company lost money from compensating victims.

In 1925, the Chisso Corporation was dumping mercury and destroying the fishing areas of Minamata Bay. The waters and marine life were polluted with mercury. Minamata Bay was a wealthy fishing and farming village. That was why it had a major effect on the main resource of Minamata. During the 1950’s, people began to notice an odd disease. Numbness took place in the victim’s lips and limbs and their speech and vision became unclear. Some of these people had brain damage and others fell unconscious. Moreover, some victims started to shout uncontrollably.

People thought that the cats were mad when they saw them commit suicide. Birds were unnaturally falling from the sky. These strange occurrences brought panic to the town of Minamata.

Minamata Disaster also had an impact on the people of Shiranui Sea. This happened a few months later, when the Chisso Corporation began to dump mercury into the Minamata River, which flows past the town of Hachimon and into the Shiranui Sea. In court, it was then determined that Chisso Corporation polluted the waters of Minamata Bay during 1932-1968.

By 1974, 794 people had been recognized as having the Minamata Disease. About 3,000 more victims were waiting to be checked on in Kumamoto Prefecture. A lot of people continue to eat fish from the Shiranui Sea, but there are no signs of methyl mercury poisoning. In 1993, victims were still being paid for having the Minamata Disease and they were suing the Chisso Corporation for the damages. The Japanese government was attempting to help the company from going bankrupt, but Chisso Corporation was already in debt from compensating victims.

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