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Minamata Mercury Poisoning
In the late 1950s, thousands of people in Minamata were poisoned by industrial waste. A factory was pumping heavy metals into a river which led to the sea. Locals who ate fish and seafood from the surrounding area suffered disabilities as a result.
Fujie Sakamoto lost one daughter to 'Minamata disease', her second daughter Shinobu was born severely disabled.
