I came from Osaka. This is my first visit to Kyusyu. I happened to see an article about Minamata-city on the Internet just before I left Osaka. The article was about neither a tragic situation of patients nor a battle against national and local governments like I taught in elementary school, but about new Minamata as an ecologically oriented city that got over all difficulty including pollution and as a city which is endowed with nature. We must not forget a past tragedy. But I so impressed by the attitude of Minamata citizens who got over the tragedy and restored the beautiful nature and regained their proud. That’s the reason why I visit Minamata-city. I want to visit again. I will live an eco-friendly life and study about human rights. And I will never discriminate people.

I cannot express by words, but today I realized here that I thought I knew about Minamata disease. I myself felt a hot surge of anger every time I saw the attitude of Chisso Company, the national or prefectural government in reports, deeply reflected that if I had really known the essence of this horrible pollution. I think we have to keep studying as long as we live. I felt very strongly that we must not allow the tragedy of Minamata disease to fade away, and took this to my heart.

I’m a third year student at a university now. I came here once, about 4 years ago, when I was a second year student at Kanagawa-gakuen high school. At that time, Mrs. Eiko Sugimoto lived and I listened to her story and took pictures with her. I learned from her that we should not grieve something too much, but instead seek anything what we can do.
I will do “handing down” activity from now. Minamata is a “roadside station” for real and we can see reflections of ourselves through Minamata. Dear Eiko, when I read your words hanging on the wall, tears welled up. “I can’t change other people, so I will change myself”. It’s my happiness to know Minamata.

I came here from Gunma prefecture. I always buy safety oranges by the Anti Agrochemicals Association. In my prefecture, there is Mr. Souhei Ohkawara who denounced an off-the-books-fund of the Gunma prefectural police and was arrested by a made-up story, and dismissed unfairly by way of disciplinary punishment. He was the only person who told truth while other people of the prefectural police kept silence. After I heard the story from an storyteller, I thought strongly that we must protect such a person who tells truth, and what is more fearful than methyl mercury poisoning is a mind of discriminating people.