From a Town of Pollution to a Town of "Symbiosis": Minamata's Vision of an Environmental Future City in 2000

From a Town of Pollution to a Town of "Symbiosis": Minamata's Vision of an Environmental Future City in 2000

In the latter half of the 20th century, Minamata disease left the deepest scars in Japan's environmental history, caused by organic mercury discharged into Minamata Bay from a plant of Chisso Corporation. The enormous damage caused to fishermen, residents, and even unborn children became a symbol of "environmental destruction and corporate responsibility," both in Japan and internationally.

In 2000, Minamata City faced up to its past and took a new step forward as an "environmental future city" under the banner of revitalizing itself from its "negative legacy. In the 1990s, there was a major shift in environmental administration, with the enactment of the Basic Environmental Law in 1993 and the adoption of the Kyoto Protocol (COP3) in 1997, which shifted the policy direction from "protecting" to "creating" the environment. The policy direction was shifted from "protecting" to "creating" the environment.

Minamata City was taking a three-pronged approach to this trend: "sharing environmental awareness through citizen cooperation," "establishing a cluster of educational and research centers," and "attracting eco-town companies. For example, citizens were directly involved in the restoration of Minamata Bay, and after removing sludge, they transplanted clams and eelgrass, reviving the "sea of death" into a "sea of restoration. In addition, the Minamata Environmental Academy and the environmental education program at Kumamoto Prefectural Minamata High School were attempts to both pass on memories to the younger generation and inspire them to action.

Furthermore, Minamata City, which was designated as an "eco-town" by the national government, aimed to rebuild the local economy with the environment at its core by attracting companies that utilize recycling technology (e.g., manufacturers of products using recycled waste materials). This policy symbolized the transformation of Minamata from the "industrial city" of the past to the "model city for a recycling-oriented society" of the future.

At the time, Minamata's city planning was not merely an environmental policy, but also involved a deep ethical question. In other words, "How can we pass on the memory of the harm done to the future? Minamata City responded to this question with the three pillars of education, technology, and citizen participation, presenting a rare model of both "reflection" and "hope.