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)

“The mistake was made by the secretariat, and we apologize deeply,” a senior Environment Ministry official said, explaining why some microphones were deliberately turned off during a ministry-sponsored gathering of Minamata disease patients on May 1.

But because these “words of apology” were uttered without the slightest hint of sincerity or emotion, they made me feel more unnerved than angry.

When that “dead mic” incident occurred, Shigemitsu Matsuzaki, 82, was speaking about his wife, who had died in April last year.

He was describing how she died crying out in pain, when a ministry staffer told him, “I’m sorry, sir, but please wrap up your story.”

The next moment, his microphone was cut off.

Polite as these words were on the surface, there was no mistaking their incredible rudeness. But perhaps this is only to be expected in a situation like this.

Another speaker was reminded, “I’m sorry but your time is up.”

If there were a god of apologies, I’m sure he or she would have yelled in outrage, “Don’t you dare say ‘sorry’ when you aren’t sorry in the slightest.”

At the gathering, the time allotted to the speakers was three minutes per group.

“That’s not a long time,” Environment Minister Shintaro Ito told the media on his way to a meeting on May 8 to apologize directly to a group of Minamata disease patients.

If he thought the allotted time was not sufficient, shouldn’t he have done something about it as the minister in charge?

Minamata disease, which is caused by mercury poisoning from industrial waste dumping, was officially recognized by the government 68 years ago.

For the patients, the history that ensued was one of an endless struggle to be acknowledged.

To this day, there are still people who have all the typical symptoms of Minamata disease but have not been officially recognized and are therefore not eligible for public assistance.

Matsuzaki’s late wife was one of those people.

Eiko Sugimoto (1939-2008), a Minamata disease patient who served as a spokesperson, once told fellow sufferers in her local dialect that, “This must be hard for you, but please think of this as a gift and keep going.”

How utterly warm and caring her words are, especially after hearing the cold bureaucratese of Environment Ministry officials.

--The Asahi Shimbun, May 9

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Vox Populi, Vox Dei is a popular daily column that takes up a wide range of topics, including culture, arts and social trends and developments. Written by veteran Asahi Shimbun writers, the column provides useful perspectives on and insights into contemporary Japan and its culture.

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