Comparative study on urban problems in the industrial city

1996 Fiscal Year Final Research Report Summary

• Project/Area Number: 06610172
• Research Category: Grant-in-Aid for Scientific Research (C)
• Allocation Type: Single-year Grants
• Section: 一般
• Research Field: 社会学(含社会福祉関係)
• Research Institution: KUMAMOTO UNIVERSITY
• Principal Investigator: MARUYAMA Sadami KUMAMOTO UNIVERSITY,FACULTY OF LETTERS,PROFESSOR, 文学部, 教授 (00039968)
• Project Period (FY): 1994 – 1996
• Keywords: POLLTION / MINAMATA DISEASE / LOCAL COMMUNITY / INDUSTRIAL CITY

Research Abstract

The City of Minamata grew along with the expantion of Chisso. This meant that Chisso exerted much influence on the structual element of the local community, that is to say that Minamata served as a model city "under the domain of industry". Their large consumption of resources enabled them to bear a lot of weight in the community. Accordingly, their share in underlying city finances was also quite large noting. Chisso amouted for 49% of the city total revenue from civil taxs in 1960. By propping up this tax revenue structure, Chisso latently exerted a great deal of influence on munincipal policy decision making and execution.
Chisso seized contorol of the munincipal mechanism in this way, and in other areas was trying to foment the belief in the local residents that they shared a "mutual destiny" with the corporation by talking of a "Minamata of Chisso". The question however remains, when viewed from a different angle, of just how Chisso, who sat comfortably in a seat of supremacy over the local community - a position they acquired by undermining local democratic institutions - could resultantly be so irresponsible for treating their industrial effluents. How could they dare to make the environment their own personal propery? How could they dare to destroy this environment? And finaly, how could they dare cause the outbreak of the Minamata Disease? From a period well before the disease surface, Chisso was already from their early days inflicting damage on the enviroment through industrial pollution of all sorts such as sea and air pollution, noise pollution and vibrations.