Once-conjoined Vietnam twin to visit Japan's Minamata disease areas

KAGOSHIMA, Japan - Nguyen Duc, a Vietnamese man born as a conjoined twin apparently due to the aftereffects of the defoliant Agent Orange used by the U.S. military in the Vietnam War, plans to visit areas affected by the pollution-caused Minamata disease in southwest Japan, according to sources close to the matter.

Duc, 45, plans to meet in October with a man in Kagoshima Prefecture who has not been officially recognized as a Minamata disease patient, before visiting neighboring Kumamoto Prefecture in December to meet another sufferer, Minamata disease victim groups and others involved have said.