What to know
Minamata City, located in southern Kumamoto Prefecture, became internationally known in the 1950s and 1960s due to a mercury poisoning disaster caused by a local factory discharging toxic wastewater into Minamata Bay.
Thousands of residents suffered from the poisoning, and the resulting illness became known worldwide as Minamata Disease, named after the city where it was first identified.
In recent decades, Minamata has turned its tragic past into a positive force, reinventing itself as an environmental model city with extensive recycling and green programs. It now welcomes school and study groups from across Japan and around the globe to learn about environmental issues.
Home to about 30,000 people, Minamata enjoys a scenic coastal location on the Shiranui Sea with views of the Amakusa Islands. Within its municipal borders are two hot spring resorts: mountainous Yunotsuru Onsen and coastal Yunoko Onsen.
