Acceptance and Overcoming of a Critical Event

A Case Study of The Niigata Minamata Disease

Abstract

People who reside near to received blessings by making their livings from the Agano River, such as: transportation, the gathering of gravel, water for agricultural use, and the catching of fish. But in 1965 the fertile natural world was completely changed by organic mercury. Many people have suffered from pollution-related illnesses. Some of them are offcically acknowledged as victims of this hazardous element; others are not so recognized despite the fact that they have identical symptoms. This paper attempts to consider what Niigata Minamata Disease means to the regional community. I have found many concernd people attempting to develop a process of acceptance and overcoming whilst taking note of “occasion” and “relationship”.