Japan's environment minister apologized Wednesday after his officials interrupted remarks by some victims of the Minamata mercury-poisoning disease by muting their microphones at a meeting in Kumamoto Prefecture last week.
"I sincerely apologize from the bottom of my heart. I am truly sorry," the minister, Shintaro Ito, said while meeting with victims in Minamata in the country's southwest.
Teppei Kiuchi, director of the ministry's Special Environmental Diseases Office and moderator of the meeting, also offered an apology following a press conference held earlier in the day in Minamata by a victims' group.
The act "was very inappropriate and hurtful," he acknowledged.
During the May 1 meeting between the minister and representatives of eight Minamata sufferers' groups, a ministry official switched off the microphones of two participants after their allotted three minutes for speaking had passed.
It caused an uproar and prompted the groups to protest and demand an apology from the minister. Some opposition lawmakers urged Prime Minister Fumio Kishida to sack Ito.
But Kishida told reporters at his office in Tokyo, "I would like the minister to continue to fulfill his responsibilities, including providing careful and considerate support to all those involved, to address issues related to Minamata disease."
The opposition camp criticized Kishida as he was elected president of the ruling Liberal Democratic Party and became the prime minister in October 2021, pledging to "listen to people's voices."
What the opposition bloc calls a blunder by the environment ministry could deal another blow to Kishida's Cabinet. Since its launch, its approval ratings have plunged to their lowest levels due to a political funds scandal that has eroded public trust in politics.
During questioning by the Constitutional Democratic Party of Japan on Wednesday, another environment ministry official said they were taught to turn off microphones after three minutes if discussions became heated but had never actually done so in practice.
During his apology, Ito expressed a desire to review the time limit policy, given that "it is difficult to understand the situation within three minutes."
The disease, which is traced to mercury-tainted water dumped into the sea by a Chisso Corp. chemical plant in Minamata, was formally acknowledged by local health authorities in 1956.
The illness paralyzes the central nervous system and also causes congenital abnormalities. While the government's relief steps have been enforced, legal battles continue for unrecognized sufferers left out of the measures.
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