Minamata: Pollution and the Struggle for Democracy in Postwar Japan (Harvard East Asian Monographs) [Paperback]

Timothy S. George (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: March 21, 2002 | ISBN-10: 0674007859 | ISBN-13: 978-0674007857

Nearly forty years after the outbreak of the "Minamata Disease," it remains one of the most horrific examples of environmental poisoning. Based on primary documents and interviews, this book describes three rounds of responses to this incidence of mercury poisoning, focusing on the efforts of its victims and their supporters, particularly the activities of grassroots movements and popular campaigns, to secure redress. George argues that Japan's postwar democracy is ad hoc, fragile, and dependent on definition through citizen action and that the redress effort is exemplary of the great changes in the second and third postwar decades that redefined democracy in Japan.

(20020201)

Editorial Reviews

Review

This is the first account, in any language, which covers the controversies surrounding the infamous mercury poisoning in Minamata in southern Kyushu over the time frame of ninety years, from the founding of the factory which caused the pollution, up to the settlement for compensation reached in 1995...George's monograph provides an excellent point of departure for further inquiries.
--Anja Osiander (Social Science Journal )

About the Author

Timothy S. George is Professor of History at the University of Rhode Island.

Product Details

• Paperback: 424 pages
• Publisher: Harvard University Asia Center (March 21, 2002)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0674007859
• ISBN-13: 978-0674007857
• Product Dimensions: 8.9 x 5.9 x 1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.2 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,367,469 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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