The blood of my veins – mercury, Minamata and the soul of Japan

Abstract

The methylmercury contamination of Minamata Bay during the WWII postwar period resulted in thousands of Japanese citizens suffering horrific neurological injury. Fear and miscommunication destroyed and changed family and social structure. In addition, the Minamata poisoning caused momentous changes in the civic discourse in Japan and was an instrumental event in the democratization of the country. This manuscript describes the effects that the environmental contamination and human poising had in the transition of Japan from a feudal society to a democratic one.

Keywords:

• Minamata
• methylmercury
• Japan
• democratization

Acknowledgements

The author is grateful to Dr. Rika O’Malley for her invaluable assistance in preparing this manuscript.

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author.