TOKYO: Japan’s Environment Ministry said Friday that its fiscal 2025 budget request addresses decarbonization and aid for Minamata disease sufferers.

The ministry’s overall budget request for the year from next April totals 870.4 billion yen, a jump of 48.9 pct from the previous year.

The ministry has asked for 76,221 million yen for subsidies to support local governments that promote decarbonization, such as introducing renewable energy.

It has also requested funds without specifying how much for support of “green transformation,” including the use by local governments of light and bendy perovskite solar cells.

The budget request also calls for 11,624 million yen to double aid for Minamata disease sufferers living on remote islands who do not have immediate access to hospitals. The aid will increase to 2,000 yen per person per month. A health survey on the effects of exposure to mercury will be conducted on a trial basis in fiscal 2025 among residents of the areas where Minamata disease cases were reported.

Minamata disease is a neurological disorder caused by methylmercury poisoning due to polluted industrial wastewater.

On May 1, ministry staff switched off the microphone while some people were speaking during a meeting between Environment Minister Shintaro Ito and Minamata disease sufferers in Minamata, Kumamoto Prefecture, southwestern Japan, claiming that they had spoken over the time limit. Ito held another meeting in July to apologize for the incident, promising to consider increasing aid for sufferers living on remote islands and conduct a health survey within two years.

JIJI Press