Masazumi Harada
Encyclopedia
Japan
Japan is an island nation in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south...
ese doctor and medical researcher. His most famous work has been into the effects of Minamata disease
Minamata disease
', sometimes referred to as , is a neurological syndrome caused by severe mercury poisoning. Symptoms include ataxia, numbness in the hands and feet, general muscle weakness, narrowing of the field of vision and damage to hearing and speech. In extreme cases, insanity, paralysis, coma, and death...
, a type of severe mercury poisoning
Mercury poisoning
Mercury poisoning is a disease caused by exposure to mercury or its compounds. Mercury is a heavy metal occurring in several forms, all of which can produce toxic effects in high enough doses...
that occurred in the city of Minamata
Minamata, Kumamoto
is a city located in Kumamoto prefecture, Japan. It is on the west coast of Kyūshū. The city was founded on April 1, 1949.As of 2008, the city has an estimated population of 27,856 and the density of 171 persons per km²...
, Kumamoto Prefecture
Kumamoto Prefecture
is a prefecture of Japan located on Kyushu Island. The capital is the city of Kumamoto.- History :Historically the area was called Higo Province; and the province was renamed Kumamoto during the Meiji Restoration. The creation of prefectures was part of the abolition of the feudal system...
during the 1950s and 1960s. His publications include (1972) and (1989).
Timeline
- 1934 Born in Kagoshima PrefectureKagoshima Prefectureis a prefecture of Japan located on the island of Kyushu. The capital is the city of Kagoshima.- Geography :Kagoshima Prefecture is located at the southwest tip of Kyushu and includes a chain of islands stretching further to the southwest for a few hundred kilometers...
, JapanJapanJapan is an island nation in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south... - 1959 Graduates from Kumamoto UniversityKumamoto Universityis a university located in Kumamoto, Japan. It was established on May 31, 1949, at which time the following institutions were subsumed into it; Kumamoto Teachers College , Kumamoto Pharmaceutical College , The Fifth High School , Kumamoto Medical College , and Kumamoto Technical College ....
medical department and goes on to study psychoneurology - 1972 Minamata-byō is published
- 1989 Minamata Ga Utsusu Sekai is published
- 1994 Receives the Global 500 PrizeGlobal 500 Roll of HonourThe United Nations Environment Programme established the Global 500 Roll of Honour in 1987 to recognize the environmental achievements of individuals and organizations around the world.The last Global 500 Roll of Honour awards were made in 2003...
from the United Nations Environment Program - 1999 Retires from Kumamoto University and joins Kumamoto Gakuen UniversityKumamoto Gakuen UniversityCalled Gakuendai or Shōdai , it is a private Japanese university in Kumamoto, Japan. It was established in 1942, at which time Eastern Language Vocational College was subsumed into it...
- 2004 Minamata-byō is published in English as Minamata Disease
Published works in English
- Harada, Masazumi. (1972). Minamata Disease. Kumamoto Nichinichi Shinbun Centre & Information Center/Iwanami Shoten Publishers. ISBN 4-87755-171-9 C3036
External links
- "10 Years of Environment and Development in Asia" (an interview with Masazumi Harada) by Keiko Ito, Asahi Shimbun, 1 October 2002
- Biography by Kumamoto Gakuen UniversityKumamoto Gakuen UniversityCalled Gakuendai or Shōdai , it is a private Japanese university in Kumamoto, Japan. It was established in 1942, at which time Eastern Language Vocational College was subsumed into it...
(in Japanese)