Government, prefecture appeal court ruling on unrecognized Minamata victims

Japan's central government and Kumamoto Prefecture said Tuesday they have appealed a lower court ruling that ordered them and a chemical company to compensate 128 unrecognized victims of the Minamata mercury-poisoning disease.The Environment Ministry, which is in charge of the issue, said the appeal has been filed in part due to some points in the ruling differing from internationally recognized scientific knowledge of the disease and a finalized court decision.The plaintiffs, who are aging, expressed their disappointment, saying they had hoped for immediate relief. The defense team said th…READ FULL ARTICLE