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Trap Named ‘Reconciliation’: The Meaning of ‘Mina- mata Disease Political Resolution’

Youngjin Lee 1

1강원대학교 문화인류학과

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ABSTRACT

This article examines the meaning of ‘ reconciliation’, a political solution in 1995, which is one of the most important turning points in the history of the Minamata disease case. As the slogan “final and complete” is well expressed, the perception that “Minamata disease is over” as a result of the political solution in 1995 spread widely in Japanese society. However, in reality, the political solution had the character of 'political relief' rather than the recognition of Minamata disease and the acquisition of compensation, which was the essence of the Minamata disease struggle until the early 1990s, and the conditional remedy inevitably resulted in another series of recognition struggle lawsuits and struggles. In order to examine the implications of the 1995 political solution in the context of the history of Minamata disease, this article examines the number of unrecognized patients based on stricter criteria for disease recognition after the signing of the historical first Kumamoto Minamata disease lawsuit and the compensation agreement with the Chisso cooperation, as well as the struggle for recognition and a series of lawsuits pertaining to the responsibility of the state. Furthermore, I would like to take note of the Kansai lawsuit, which continued the fight against reconciliation in 1995, by reviewing various legal battles, including the ongoing No More Minamata State Compensation Suits, which emerged after the 2004 Supreme Court ruling, to raise new questions about the limitations of the 1995 political settlement.

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* References for papers published after 2023 are currently being built.

This paper was written with support from the National Research Foundation of Korea.
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