Japan in the fifties. In Minamata, on Kyushu, is a factory belonging to the Chisso concern that makes chemical compounds such as fertilizers. The waste material, including mercury, is dumped in the sea. The local people live off fishing. In the early fifties the first cases of poisoning are seen and occasionally lead to a slow and painful death. By 1959 there are 600 victims. The factory starts to pay compensation, but refuses to recognise its liability. The Ministry of Public Health only holds the factory responsible fifteen years after the dumping started. Minamata concentrates on the victims. In Tsuchimoto’s impressive first documentary about this subject (many more were to follow) he allows the survivors to speak.
