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ABOUT.COM: RARE DISEASES – MINAMATA DISEASEhttp://rarediseases.about.com/od/rarediseases1/a/102304.htmIn the mid 1950s the people of Minamata, Japan, on the coast of the Shiranui Sea, began to noticesomething wrong with the cats in their town. The cats appeared to be going insane, and were fallinginto the sea. Soon the people in the town were also contracting a strange illness. Individuals began tohave numbness in their limbs and lips. Some had difficulty hearing or seeing. Others developedshaking (tremors) in their arms and legs, difficulty walking, even brain damage.MINISTRY OF THE ENVIRONMENT: MINAMATA DISEASE – THE HISTORY ANDMEASUREShttp://www.env.go.jp/en/chemi/hs/minamata2002/Minamata Disease, which is a typical example of the pollution-related health damage in Japan, wasfirst discovered in 1956, around Minamata Bay in Kumamoto Prefecture, and in 1965, in the AganoRiver basin in Niigata Prefecture. Since the discovery of the disease, investigation of the cause hasbeen made, and finally in 1968, the government announced its opinion that Minamata Disease wascaused by the consumption of fish and shellfish contaminated by methylmercury compounddischarged from a chemical plant.UNITED NATIONS UNIVERSITY PRESS: MINAMATA DISEASEhttp://www.unu.edu/unupress/unupbooks/uu35ie/uu35ie0c.htmThe Minamata disease was the most massive pollution problem to strike Japan in the post-SecondWorld War period. The total picture in relation to the epidemiology of the problem has yet to unfold.The number of victims and deaths produced has not yet been determined. Twenty-five years havecome and gone since the disease was first discovered and the number of people adversely affected isstill on the increase. Further, no treatment for the condition has been discovered.JAPAN FOREIGN CORRESPONDENTS’ CLUB PRESS CONFERENCE,INTRODUCTORY REMARKS: MINAMATA DISEASE – JAPAN’S WORSTINDUSTRIAL POLLUTION DISASTER (April 25, 2006)http://aileenarchive.or.jp/minamata_en/documents/060425aileen.htmlMinamata Disease, methylmercury poisoning caused by eating fish and shellfish contaminated by thefactory waste water released from the Chisso corporation in Kumamoto, Kyushu is consideredJapan's worst industrial pollution disaster. May 1 marks the fiftieth anniversary of the first reportingof Minamata disease to the city health office. Experts say at least twenty to thirty thousand peoplemay have been affected by the poisoning.BHOPAL.NET: 50 YEARS LATER, VICTIMS OF MINAMATA DISEASE STILL FIGHTFOR JUSTICE (April 28, 2006)http://www.bhopal.net/otherbhopals/archives/2006/04/50_years_later.htmlOn May 1, Japan will take long-overdue steps to more fully recognize a neurological disease causedby industrial pollution in Minamata Bay.TOKYO INSTITUTE OF TECHNOLOGY: EXPERT AND CITIZEN PARTICIPATIONIN THE POLLUTION CONTROL – THE CASE OF ITAI-ITAI DISEASE IN JAPANwww.csi.ensmp.fr/WebCSI/4S/download_paper/download_paper.php?paper=kaji.pdfDuring the 1960s and 1970s, Japan enjoyed a period of extremely high economic growth, butsuffered at the same time from various forms of pollution. Pollution-related diseases became a matterof public concern and lawsuits were initiated by affected residents in an attempt to correct damages.Itai-itai disease, like Minamata disease, is such a pollution-related disease.13
WaterWATER ENVIRONMENTAL MANAGEMENT IN JAPANhttp://www.env.go.jp/en/water/wq/pamph/index.htmlThis website, sponsored by Japan’s Ministry of the Environment, details the country’s history,policies, and ongoing concerns regarding water management.JAPAN SOCIETY ON WATER ENVIRONMENThttp://www.jswe.or.jp/index-e.htmlThe objective of this Society is to contribute to the conservation and the creation of a sound waterenvironment through research and dissemination of knowledge concerning the water environmentand related fields. Additionally, we aim to contribute to the development of a scientific culture inthese fields.JOURNAL OF WATER AND ENVIRONMENTAL TECHNOLOGYhttp://www.jstage.jst.go.jp/browse/jwetAn electronic academic journal published by the Japan Society on Water Environment.WATER ENVIRONMENT PARTNERSHIP IN ASIA (WEPA): STATE OF WATERENVIRONMENTAL ISSUES – JAPAN (2005)http://www.wepa-db.net/policies/state/japan/japan.htmThe reinforced effluent regulations for factories have been effective in improving water quality, butproblems with domestic effluent remain and efforts to improve this situation have lagged because of,for example, insufficient sewage treatment system infrastructure. In addition to physicalcharacteristics of enclosed or semi-enclosed water bodies, such as low water turnover rates, anotherimportant factor contributing to water quality problems is concentration of people and industries inthese catchment areas.STATE OF JAPAN’S ENVIRONMENT AT A GLANCE: WATER POLLUTIONhttp://www.env.go.jp/en/water/wq/pollution/index.htmlRemarkable improvements have been made over recent years in water quality in Japan, owing tosignificant reduction of pollution by heavy metals, as a result of regulations on industrial wastewater.On the other hand, environmental quality standards for organic pollution are still not being met atabout 30 percent of Japan’s total water area.MINISTRY OF THE ENVIRONMENT: CONSERVATION OF MARINEENVIRONMENThttp://www.env.go.jp/en/earth/marine/conservation.htmlThe annual number of reported marine pollution incidents in the coastal areas of Japan has remainedat approximately seven to nine hundred in recent years; half are oil-related incidents. In 1996, marinepollution caused by oil spill totaled 370 cases, including 299 cases of oil spill from vessels. Amongthese, eighty-six cases were committed intentionally and ninety-one were the result of carelesshandling. Incidents caused by land-based sources numbered 179 and most of them were committedintentionally.WhalingWORLDWATCH INSTITUTE: CAN JAPAN CONVINCE INTERNATIONALCOMMUNITY TO SUPPORT ‘SUSTAINABLE’ WHALING? (Feb. 22, 2008)http://www.worldwatch.org/node/5628The International Whaling Commission’s seventy-eight members are meeting in London next monthin an effort to reach agreement on whale conservation rules. Meanwhile, global whale huntingcontinues to increase.14
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Page 6 and 7: ENVIRONMENTAL ISSUES AND AGREEMENTS
Page 8 and 9: BBC TIMELINE - JAPANhttp://news.bbc
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Page 16 and 17: THE INSTITUTE OF CETACEAN RESEARCH
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Page 22 and 23: JAPANESE GOVERNMENT & POLITICSASIA
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Page 32 and 33: JET ALUMNI ASSOCIATION (JETAA)http:
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