Although the disease was found not to be infectious, the name “Minamata disease” harmed the city's reputation. Citizens faced social and economic discrimination throughout Japan.
"It's not just about illness; society should look again at what we can do for pollution victims who have lived their lives enduring discrimination and poverty beyond imagination."
~Kimiyo Ito, member of the Minamata Disease Victims Mutual Aid Association, Mainichi Shimbun
“We came to understand that [our symptoms were] caused by methylmercury poisoning but we couldn’t really make it public that we were victims, because people thought that Minamata disease was contagious.
Rumours spread though, and people would say that no one should marry a member of the Ogata family. I got married at the age of 20, but on the day of our engagement, my wife had a phone call. Naming me, the person said to her, ‘the man you are trying to marry is a Minamata disease victim. The whole family will be annihilated. Are you okay to go to such a place as a bride?’”
~Masami Ogata, Minamata disease victim, UN News
“In 1973, the Minamata City, Minamata Chamber of Commerce, the Tourism Association and others, conducted a campaign to change the name of Minamata disease, and took a petition signed by 72％ of electors in Minamata City to the Environment Agency and other related organizations.”
~Minamata Disease Municipal Museum
Kenji Hagamoto was bullied for his condition: “If [Chisso] had stopped discharging mercury earlier, this kind of disease would not have occurred, and we would not have become Minamata disease patients. This is most regretful. I don’t want children to have bitter experience[s] like I had."
Kenji Hagamoto, Minamata Disease Municipal Museum
"The inn and sushi restaurant do not use fish caught in Minamata Bay, which are linked to Minamata disease, and you may eat here without fear. This is our firm, firm promise."
~Manager's Notice at an inn and restaurant in Minamata, circa 1959, Minamata: Pollution and the Struggle for Democracy in Postwar Japan
The number of victims—particularly congenital victims—rose as debate over the disease’s cause stalled action against Chisso.
Graph displaying the amount of acetaldehyde production beside methylmercury concentration in umbilical cords, Minamata Disease: A Challenge for Democracy and Justice
Takako Isayama, a 12-year-old congenital Minamata disease victim, and her mother, 1972, Magnum Photos
Eiko Ueno: “There were about 15 children who suffered from infantile palsy. They were laid down and lined up…I was begged to accept an autopsy on her body when [my daughter] passed away. In about 4 months I was notified that Ryoko had suffered Minamata disease."
Eiko Ueno and her daughter Ryoko, Minamata Disease Municipal Museum