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This book overviews the poisoning which occurred in the 1950s and 1960s among the residents in Minamata, Japan, who ate seafood contaminated with methylmercury discharged from the chemical factory, Chisso Corporation. This chapter describes the purpose in writing this book and the reason why the author used MPM (methylmercury poisoning in Minamata) as a disease name instead of so-called Minamata disease.

This chapter outlines the methylmercury poisoning in Minamata (MPM): about the history, symptom pathogenesis, research on the causal agent, and responses of the national and local governments and the responsible company, i.e., Chisso, to the outbreak of MPM. A book written by Nishimura and Okamoto () played an important role to clarify the mechanism of the MPM outbreak. Based on this book and the published data on mercury concentrations of aquatic organisms and newborns’ umbilical cords, how methylmercury generated in the plant, flew into the sea, transferred to aquatic organisms, and was consumed by residents are explained. Victims of MPM, compensation and environmental restructure, and court ruling against this incident are described. Based on lecture notes from a university course, students’ suggestions for avoiding a repeat of the tragedy are also introduced.

In this chapter, countermeasures and solutions to methylmercury poisoning (MPM) and current and outstanding issues on the mercury pollution are discussed. Correct information and data, public access to information, establishment of company ethics, rapid response by governments, societal responsibility, and penalties on responsible organizations are necessary for preventing the similar kind of pollution and human hazard. Recent studies which show the relationship between the anthropogenic emissions of mercury and the risk to human health, especially to fetuses and infants, are summarized. Finally, outstanding issues on MPM that are in connection with the global mercury cycle are discussed.