The Minamata disease compensation agreements of 1959 were agreed between the polluting Chisso company and representative groups of fishermen and Minamata disease patients who had been affected by mercury pollution. The agreements and their formation shared a number of common characteristics. They were formulated outside the legal system, by ad-hoc mediation committees specially established for the purpose. Members of the committees and the final agreements were weighted in favour of Chisso and all included punitive clauses that the groups could make no future claims for compensation against the company.
Compensation of fishermen
Ever since 1908 when Chisso opened the factory in Minamata wastewater had been dumped into the seas around Minamata, particularly into Minamata Bay via the waste canal outlet in Hyakken Harbour. Damage to fisheries was inevitable and the Minamata Fishing Cooperative had demanded compensation from the company on two occasions previous to the outbreak of Minamata disease. After direct negotiations in 1926 the company agreed to pay "sympathy money" to the cooperative of JPY1,500 (USD704). By using the term the company avoided accepting responsibility for the damage and sought to prevent further claims by including a clause in the agreement that the cooperative would "never again lodge complaints" against Chisso. This pattern of denial of responsibility and the inclusion of punitive clauses repeated itself again and again in Chisso's dealings with complainants. The pollution continued unabated and another agreement was signed in 1943. This time the cooperative was paid JPY152,500 in compensation for future and past damage to fishing. The cooperative was also forced to acknowledge Chisso's "importance to the prosperity of Minamata" and "the need to cooperate so as not to harm its operations", indicating the unequal nature of the agreement.
The Minamata Fishing Cooperative
By the time of the outbreak of Minamata disease the fishing situation had become critical. From 1953 to 1957 the fish catch in Minamata had declined by a staggering 91%. In 1956, the Kumamoto prefectural government had attempted to limit the spread of the disease by banning the sale of fish caught from Minamata Bay, but did not issue and all-out ban. This left fishermen with fish they could not sell, but no financial assistance to compensate their losses. In September 1958 the Minamata Fishing Cooperative petitioned the prefecture to ban fishing completely so that their members might be properly compensated under the Fisheries Law and Food Sanitation Act. The government did not respond and only advised the fishermen against consumption of the fish and shellfish they caught from the bay. However, with no source of income, many fishermen were left with no choice but to eat the suspect fish they caught. In fact, throughout the history of the Minamata disease problem, the catching of fish from Minamata Bay has never been legally prohibited.
Despite the ban on the sale of contaminated fish, there was still widespread suspicion amongst local people that fish caught in the Minamata area was unsafe and by June 1959 several fish shops had gone out of business from plummeting demand. Desperate, and with no assistance from government, the cooperative was forced into direct negotiations with the company. On 6 August 400 members of the cooperative marched on the factory and in a hostile atmosphere met with factory manager Eiichi Nishida. The fishermen's demand for the cleanup of Minamata Bay, the installation of wastewater treatment facilities and JPY100 million (USD278,000) was met with an offer of "emergency sympathy money" to the value of JPY500,000 (USD1,390) and a promise to consult with the company's head office in Tokyo.