Seven men and women in Kumamoto and Kagoshima prefectures born around 1956, when Minamata disease was officially confirmed, were handed down by the Kumamoto District Court on the 30th, asking the prefecture to recognize them as patients with Minamata disease. increase.
The focus is on whether the court will recognize the damage caused by Minamata disease more broadly than national standards.
According to the national certification criteria for Minamata disease patients, if the only symptom is "sensory disorder" such as numbness in the hands and feet, objective data certifying that mercury has been ingested is required.
Seven men and women in their 60s living in Kumamoto and Kagoshima prefectures filed complaints, claiming that they had developed sensory impairment by ingesting mercury through fish and shellfish as a fetus or child, and applied for patient certification to the prefecture. However, it was rejected because the materials were insufficient.
At the trial, seven people were born and raised near a mercury-contaminated sea and their families, asking them to admit them as patients, saying, "The prefecture wants to prove impossible facts and violates legal justice." He claims that the sensory impairment is due to mercury, as some of his relatives have been identified as having Minamata disease.
On the other hand, the prefecture side is demanding that the complaint be dismissed, claiming that "there is no definite evidence that the effects of mercury have reached the plaintiffs, and the sensory impairment is likely due to other illnesses."
In the last 10 years, the accreditation rate of patients has been less than 1%, and the focus is on whether the Kumamoto District Court will recognize the damage of Minamata disease more widely than the national standard in the judgment on the 30th.