Japan court rejects redress claims by unrecognized Minamata victims

A Japanese district court rejected Friday compensation claims by 144 unrecognized sufferers of the Minamata mercury-poisoning disease against the state and others.The Kumamoto District Court recognized 25 of the plaintiffs, who have not been eligible for relief payments under a special law, as victims of the disease, but did not award them compensation, citing the expiry of a 20-year statute of limitations for their damages claims.The ruling contrasted with a judgment by a different court in a similar case that ordered payments to the plaintiffs after acknowledging them all as victims.The n…READ FULL ARTICLE