Photo/Illutration Environment Ministry officials are asked by Minamata disease patients about microphones being abruptly cut off during their meeting on May 1 with Environment Minister Shintaro Ito, second from right. (Masaru Komiyaji)

MINAMATA, Kumamoto Prefecture--A meeting between sufferers of Minamata disease and the environment minister ended in uproar because government underlings switched off the microphone when participants exceeded their allotted speaking time.

The May 1 meeting with Environment Minister Shintaro Ito was arranged so victims of the neurological disease could voice their concerns. It was held after an annual memorial ceremony for those who died from the disease caused by industrial wastewater containing methylmercury discharged into the sea off Minamata.

Representatives of eight groups met with Ito, but when one speaker exceeded the three minutes allotted to each participant, the Environment Ministry emcee asked that the speaker summarize what they wanted to say and then abruptly turned off the sound from the mike.

The next speaker said the allotted time would be given to the following speaker. But when that speaker exceeded six minutes, the mike was again turned off.

When the representative of another group spoke about his wife who died last year without ever being recognized as a Minamata disease victim, the mike was also turned off after three minutes, leading other members at the meeting to raise their voices in protest.

When the representatives of the groups asked after the meeting if the sound had been turned off, Environment Ministry officials admitted the matter had been badly handled by lower-ranking officials.

When Ito was asked about the various individuals whose speaking time was cut off, he said, “I did not believe the mike had been turned off.”

That led to another uproar from the audience, who expressed disbelief that the environment minister could have been oblivious to what transpired.

At a news conference following the meeting, Ito said, “I heard everything (the sufferers) said.”

However, he said another opportunity would be set up because it was difficult to hear everything at one meeting.

Yuji Nakayama, 70, the secretary-general of an organization of Minamata disease sufferers, was appalled at how the meeting was handled.

“There were times in the past when more than 10 organizations took part, but everyone had their say no matter how long the meeting lasted,” Nakayama said. “Since the environment minister came to the memorial ceremony with the intention of hearing from the victims, sufficient time should have been set aside beforehand to do so.”

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