The movie MINAMATA was released in Japan nationwide on 23rd September, 2021. The author of this webpage, Norio Iriguchi, watched it at a TOHO Cinema theater with expectations for the public good offered to the present society. The movie began with a noticeable sign reading "based on true events." Producing a film about the actions taken by Chisso Corporation is an important undertaking. It should be work that should be celebrated. Here are impressions the author had and actions the author took afterwards.

    Born and raised in Minamata, the author's overall impression of the movie was a series of feeling of wrongness, substantially from the beginning to the end. The variety of trees and plants and houses in the movie were all different from those in Minamata. No stone house with tatami rooms was actually found in Minamata. No police officials actually searched private houses without showing warrants or beat up people there even in those days.
    Before the movie was produced (2018), the author, Norio Iriguchi, sent a letter to Johnny Depp, the movie's producer and main actor, informing him that "Minamata Disease" is a discriminatory term and should be used carefully. The author then presented Johnny Depp a copy of author's book Minamata Bay, 1932 (Tokyo, 2012). The term "Minamata Disease" emerges in the film MINAMATA, when a lady editor of LIFE magazine says, "Now it's called Minamata Disease," and in a few scenes. The author appreciated these scenes because those insensitivity could have been likely in those days.

    On the other hand, a person who spreads false rumors or uses deception to damage the credibility of others or obstruct their business should be subjected to imprisonment of up to three years in Japan (Article 233 of Japanese Law of Criminal Justice). Other countries have similar laws.
    This movie uses the proper name of Minamata City as the title of the film and the real, juristic name of Chisso Corporation and its real logo.
    As long as real names are used, the film should not only be a fiction inspired by the facts but also exactly depict the facts without fabrication. This is because it should be a great deal of trouble to parties involved. Even if a single cut of a faked scene (a scene which is not true and has no basis in fact) or a fake scene (a scene which is inspired by facts but is not true) is involved, it should be against law.
    The film could have been a good movie legally if it had been produced without fablication and advisably if the old town of Minamata had been recreated. There could have been a more artistic and lawful way to convey the suffering of patients, depict the scenic Minamata, a city blessed with beautiful scenery, and show the responsibilities of the pollution company to the world. It is so regrettable, because this film appears to have had a potential to be a great piece of work. The film intentionally uses a series of faked scenes and fake scenes, falsifying history. Even if it is played by the famous Johnny Depp, there is a suspicion that the work has crossed the line of decency and is illegal. The movie should not be bequeathed to future generations.




I.  Examples of Fabricated Scenes

    The film uses the proper noun of Minamata City as its title, and the juristic corporate name and logo (mark) of Chisso Corporation, the only large factory in Minamata City.
    Nevertheless, at least six faked scenes and fake scenes exist in the film. Those fabricated scenes are core portions of the whole story.

(1)  The scenes where toxic effluent is poured from a drainpipe into the sea are fake scenes, because Chisso Corporation Minamata Factory discharged wastewater using a drainpipe 1958-1959 only. That was more than ten years before Aileen and Eugene Smith arrived in Minamata for the first time in September, 1971.

    In 1958, the author, Norio Iriguchi, then a sixth grader at Minamata First Elementary School, and friends saw the drainpipe several times at close quarters. It was a crude metal pipe that ran from the riverbank over a thin iron girder to the top of the stream, with a horizontal opening. The effluent was discharged there from time to time. In 1959, the Factory removed the drainpipe. The effluent was then discharged through the factory gutter, without a drainpipe, into Minamata Bay until Saturday, 18th May, 1968, when the Minamata Factory ceased production of acetaldehyde. It was still more than three years before Eugene Smith's arrival in Minamata.
    Therefore, it was impossible for Eugene Smith to have taken a photograph of the methylmercury wastewater discharged into the sea.

(2)  In the play, the president of Chisso, putting a helmet with Chisso's logo on, tries to hand Eugene Smith, also putting a helmet with Chisso's logo on, an envelope containing $50,000 and asks him to hand over all the nega-films and "go home." Eugene rejects it, saying "Fuck you."
    Those scenes have been invented for dramatic effect and to get audiences emotionally invested.
    Chisso Minamata Factory did not allow outsiders on its premises. The name "Eugene Smith" would not appear in the visitor records of the factory. Neither the president (the late Kenichi Shimada) nor the chairman (the late Yutaka Egashira) was in Minamata at the same time as the film's protagonists. Each time the president came to Minamata, local newspapers reported it like "President is coming to Minamata!"

(3)  In the film, Eugene's workplace is torched. Those are also faked scenes for dramatic effect and to get audiences emotionally invested.
    In those days, news of any small fire in Minamata spread throughout the city and was reported in local newspapers. No record of such a fire exists at the Minamata fire station or the police station.

(4)  In the movie, at Chisso's Hospital, a security check is conducted, then Eugene and others visit patients in sickrooms, then they walked down the concrete stairs under the watchful eyes of the security guards, and Eugene finds confidential materials in a downstairs room. Those scenes are also fabricated to mislead the audience.

    The Hospital was a one-story wooden house with no security checks and no concrete stairs. By the time when Eugene and Aileen Smith arrived in Minamata for the first time in September 1971, the Hospital had already been closed down and no longer existed.

(5)  When Eugene went to Chisso Corporation Goi Factory in Goi, Ichihara City, Chiba Prefecture, on Friday, 7th January, 1972, a negotiating team of about 20 people including patients from Minamata led by Teruo Kawamoto refused to leave the office of Chisso Goi Factory. Eugene and his then wife Aileen were among them. Chisso's head office instructed the Goi Factory to mobilize dozens of employees to remove the trespassing group from the premises. Employees were forbidden to engage in violence. No smoke bombs were used. Eugene, who tried to film the incident during the fierce struggle, fell down and was injured.
    Audio recordings and many photographs of the occurrence could be used as direct evidence (5W1H) of the trespassing but not as direct evidence (5W1H) for the moment of the injury. If Eugene and other demonstrators were to sue Chisso Corporation for the injury, Chisso could be to sue them for the trespassing. The Chiba District Public Prosecutor's Office dismissed both cases due to insufficient evidence. No one from either side was sentenced even to a fine of 1,000 yens. The only acknowledged injuries were those resulting from self-infliction.

    Eugene needed whiskey as a painkiller for the after-effects of wounds sustained in the Battle of Okinawa (Asahi, 7th October, 2021). Eugene emptied half a bottle of Suntory Red (39% 640ml) every day and was under the influence of alcohol at all times. Therefore, it was very likely that he collapsed in a struggle. He was known to have fragments of artillery shells by the Japanese army in his body, so it was also very likely that he was injered when he fell down there.
    Some newspapers described the incident as a one-sided assault. However, it is not permissible to report a case in favor of one side or the other.
    Aileen Smith, in her report (released by Kumamoto Gakuen University) entitled "My Days with W. Eugene Smith: A Memoir," submitted to the university in 2020, states that Eugene was "injured by Chisso's gangsters." However, Chisso's employees were simply carrying out their duties carefully, and there were no anti-social elements, such as gangsters, among them.
    The parallel scenes in the movie were portrayed as if they were assaults by gangsters; such as punching and kicking. This false account also was aimed at audience's emotional heartstrings. Most of the audience would be deceived.
    In the movie, Eugene's palm, which is important for a photographer, is badly assaulted under a shoe. In reality, however, according to the medical certificate Eugene obtained, he did not actually injure his palm.

(6)  In the scenes where Eugene captures his masterpiece, the photograph of "Patient Daughter and her Mother in a Bathtub," he struggles to directly release the shutter of his camera due to the injury of his palms, then wrapped in bandage. That specific scene was also invented for dramatic effect and to elicit emotional sympathy from audiences.
    Actually, the injury was sustained on Friday, 7th January, 1972, and the photograph was taken the previous year, without the injury, on Friday, 24th December, 1971.


II.  How the Movie Divided the Society

    To the author of this webpage, Norio Iriguchi, the movie MINAMATA appears to have seriously divided the Japanese society as follows;

1.  The government and Kumamoto Prefecture
    The Japanese government and Kumamoto Prefecture are the perpetrators of the methylmercury pollution in Minamata, since through their inaction, they in effect permitted the spread of the pollution. These two defendants are still fighting plaintiffs (patients) in court. To dwarf their culpability, Kumamoto Prefecture wants to brand the issue as "Minamata's Minamata Disease." This false branding is aimed at tying the problem, and therefore its cause, to the geographical location of Minamata. The title "MINAMATA" of the movie is not necessarily inconvenient for the purpose. Kumamoto Prefecture nominally sponsored an advance screening of the film MINAMATA in Minamata City on 18th September, 2021 to an audience of about a thousand people.

2.  Minamata City
    At the time of the outbreak of methylmercury pollution, Minamata City was helpless, but still endeavored to help its citizens by sending fish and sick cats from Minamata Bay area to Kumamoto University School of Medicine. The real intention of the production of the movie MINAMATA is debatable. First of all, "MINAMATA" is the proper name of Minamata City, the public corporation. By tying the problem to the geographical location of Minamata, the film could paint falsified negative images. Hence, the film should not be released. The city refused to sponsor the advance screening of the film held in Minamata City.

3.  The patient daughter and her mother in a bathtub
    Unlike photographic certificates or landscapes, in artistic photography, where the subject is a person, both the photographer and the subject, the person expressing the thought and emotion, are given copyrights. The rights are given also to the girl and her mother in Eugene Smith's "Patient Daughter and her Mother in a Bathtub."
    The parents of the daughter welcomed the picture taken as a daily memorial of their daughter's growth.
    When Eugene and Aileen Smith's English-language photo book MINAMATA (1975, New York) was published in the U.S., the parents were informed that the release was for the public good of conveying to the world what had happened in Minamata. As such, the parents gave their permission for image use and expressed their appreciation for its publication after the release (1975). Eugene and Aileen Smith got divorced shortly after the release.
    The daughter in the bathtub scene passed away in 1977. Eugene passed away in the U.S. in 1978. After that, San-ichi Shobo published a Japanese version of the photo book MINAMATA twice, first in 1980 then again in 1991. However, the girl's parents did not want the image of their deceased daughter publicly displayed any longer. This apprehension is tied to a common Japanese reverence or awe sense for a deceased person. The parents did not want her to appear in the movie MINAMATA neither (Asahi, 16th October, 2021).
    The daughter's property rights, such as the distribution rights of books, the screening rights of movies, and the neighboring rights to produce DVDs still exist for 70 years after her death, until December 31, 2047. Those property rights are private rights, and violation of a private right is against law. In Japan infringement is punishable by an imprisonment of up to ten years and a fine of up to 10 million yens, or up to 300 million yens in the case for corporations. Such rights are inherited by the surviving father and other close relatives within the 6th degree. The surviving mother retains both her property rights as well as moral rights. Copyright protection in one country is valid in most countries under the Berne Convention. Though Aileen Smith says "I have broken the seal" (Asahi Digital, 16th October, 2021), she has not broken any seal, because private rights are protected by law and must not be violated by others. For the parents of the girl, MINAMATA is a film that should not be released.

4.  The president and chairman
    President K. Shimada passed away in 1978, and Chairman Y. Egashira passed away in 2006. It should not be punishable to defame a deceased person by pointing out facts only. However, it should be against law and punishable by imprisonment of up to three years in Japan to defame a deceased person by fabricated stories. The rights to sue are inherited by their close relatives. It had better be noted that Her Majesty the Empress Masako of Japan is above-mentioned Y. Egashira's innocent granddaughter.

5.  Chisso Corporation
    Chisso Corporation continues its business while compensating patients. The Minamata Plant of JNC Corporation, a subsidiary of Chisso Corporation, has completely changed over the generations and has become an important workplace where young people can work in hope to contribute to the society. The movie MINAMATA is not allowed due to its heavy intentional misrepresentations. Several legal and ethical grounds exist to prohibit the film MINAMATA.

6.  The general public and some mass media
    The movie begins with a noticeable sign reading "based on true events." Since the proper name of Minamata City is used as the title of the movie and Chisso Corporation, the only large chemical company in Minamata City, is featured with its real, official name and recognized logo, all these components declare that the film is not only inspired by the facts but also exactly depicts the facts without fabrication. Therefore, unlike other dramas that are created under the freedom of expression, there should be no fictitious portions in this specific movie MINAMATA. This is because, otherwise, it would be against law, and, we the audience would be deceived.
    Eugene and Aileen Smith would have come to Minamata, because, we don't know, but as depicted in the movie, Chisso was still discharging methylmercury wastewater into the sea.
    The president of Chisso, as testified in the movie, must have tried to give Eugene Smith a lot of money to get the nega-films back.
    Eugene's workplace must have been torched, as depicted in the movie.
    Eugene must have visited patients in shickrooms and discovered confidential materials at the Chisso's Hospital under the watchful eyes of security guards, as depicted in the movie.
    Eugene must have been injured and had his important palm crushed at the Chisso Factory, as portrayed in the movie.
    When Eugene tried to take the photograph of the patient girl and her mother in a bathtub, one of his masterpieces, he must have been unable to release the shutter directly, as depicted in the movie.
    No matter what rights the patient daughter and her mother have, how could we the audience in the outfield be conscious of their private rights?  The music by Ryuichi Sakamoto is also beautiful. MINAMATA is a good film.


7.  Plaintiffs' (patients') attorneys
    To this day some lawsuits are still filed against the government, Kumamoto Prefecture, and Chisso Corporation. Sometimes the plaintiffs (sufferers) win, and, sometimes the plaintiffs lose.
    The plaintiffs have been straightforward so far. None of them have perjured themselves. None of the aging storytellers in Minamata has ever told a fabricated story, even a little, since they were young. This consistency in testimony has been persistent for more than sixty years. Lawyers for the patients have tirelessly, professionally, and genuinely tried to bring them justice. The courts, all the way up to the Supreme Court, have also tried to provide some relief to the plaintiffs.
    However, at the advance screening of the movie MINAMATA held in Minamata City on 18th September, 2021, many plaintiffs watched, with glee, the movie in which Eugene Smith defeated the antagonist, Chisso, with deliberate audience manipulations and blatant misrepresentations such as "the envelope with a lot of money," "arson," "palm injuries," and other falsehoods. The media reported news of the advance screening. However, the plaintiffs will have no choice but to admit to the falsehoods depicted in the film, and, in stating the truth in court, contradict those previous accounts portrayed in the movie. This wavering violates the Principle of Estoppel, which is a principle rooted in good faith.
    Attorneys representing the plaintiffs would find themselves in an awful predicament. The film MINAMATA should never have been made.

The author of this webpage, Norio Iriguchi, is not related to any potential conflict of interest.