Dr. Masazumi Harada, who devoted himself to the study of Minamata disease, Japan's worst disease induced by industrial pollution affecting an estimated more than 30,000 people, died on June 11 of acute myelocytic leukemia at his home in the city of Kumamoto. He was 77. In carrying out his research, he continued to be on the side of Minamata disease victims. He spoke and wrote to scientifically convey the true picture of the dreadful disease to the public.

The death of Dr. Harada should serve as an opportunity for the government and businesses to reflect on the many cases of industrial pollution that have taken many lives in the course of Japan's modernization and to remind themselves of their social responsibility to rectify pollution damage inflicted on humans and the environment and to prevent future industrial pollution.

On May 1, 1956, a local public health center in Minamata, Kumamoto Prefecture, reported the occurrence of a "rare disease of unknown cause" afflicting four people with symptoms of an unexplained brain disorder — the first official recognition of Minamata disease. In 1959, a Kumamoto University team said it was caused by organic mercury released from Chisso Corp.'s Minamata factory. But the government and Chisso resisted the findings and failed to take proper action.