Tens of thousands more victims of Japan's 1950s Minamata mercury poisoning disaster may soon qualify for financial compensation under a bill that was being prepared in parliament Thursday.
The ruling bloc and opposition parties agreed to pass a law next week to reduce the number of symptoms required for a patient to qualify for relief, the first review since 1995.
The environment ministry estimated that more than 20,000 additional Minamata victims may be eligible for compensation, which may range from 1.5 million to 3.0 million yen (15,500 to 31,100 dollars), local media reported.
The health disaster emerged in the 1950s in the small fishing town of Minamata on Kyushu island where chemical company Chisso Corp had for years dumped mercury into a bay, poisoning fish and unsuspecting residents.
Victims complained of spasms, seizures and loss of motor control that impaired their ability to walk and speak. Babies were born with nervous system damage and other mental and physical deformities.
The health problems were first reported by a local hospital in 1956 but, although Chisso Corp was immediately suspected, its management denied responsibility and the plant continued dumping mercury until 1968.
The company was not officially blamed for the health problems until 1973.
In 1995, Japan's government led by then-premier Tomiichi Murayama ordered Chisso to compensate 11,000 patients who had not previously been officially recognised as victims of the Minamata disaster.
So far people who wanted financial relief had to prove motor defects and sensory impairments such as tunnel vision. But under the new bill they will only have to prove sensory impairments.
Under the new law, Chisso, which is headquartered in Tokyo but still operates in Minamata, will be split into two entities — one to oversee the payouts, and another to keep running the company's business operations.
Five years ago, the Supreme Court held Kumamoto prefecture, where Minamata city is located, responsible for spreading the disease.
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