Day Seven (2 Nov 2008)
DAY SEVEN
We're leaving for Singapore on flight SQ655 soon! Bye, Kyushu!
We're leaving for Singapore on flight SQ655 soon! Bye, Kyushu!
is organized by Victoria School's Humanities Department to promote a deeper understanding of Social Studies, Geography and History and greater appreciation of the people and culture of Japan.
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Mt Aso is one of the most famous active volcanoes in Japan, and possesses
the largest volcanic caldera (crater) in the world, with a diameter of 24km and
a circumference of 126km. Mt Aso is theorized to have formed from 4 major
eruptions during the past 300,000 years. The magma flowed out of 5 main vents,
which eventually became the 5 main peaks comprising Mt Aso - Mt Neko, Mt Naka,
Mt Eboshi, Mt Kishima and Mt Taka, of which Mt Naka remains active.
The eruptions released such huge amounts of magma from the Earth, that an
"empty space" was formed beneath the surface, into which the ground collapsed,
creating the large caldera that Aso is famous for.
The Minamata Disease was first discovered in 1956. Since 1932, the Chisso
Corporation in Japan (one of the world's largest manufacturers of products such
as liquid crystal) had been dumping wastewater containing methyl mercury into
the nearby Minamata River. Over time, dangerous amounts of methyl mercury
accumulated in the bodies of fish and other aquatic lifeforms living the river
and surrounding sea.
As Minamata City itself is located next to the sea, many of its residents
were fishermen. In the 1950s, people began to observe dead fish floating in the
waters surrounding Minamata. Soon enough, cats which had eaten the contaminated
seafood began having strange convulsions and spasms.
In 1956, the first documented case of Minamata Disease in humans occurred,
but it was a very long time before the root cause of the disease was discovered.
The Chisso Corporation knew that their mercury-containing discharges were the
cause, but concealed the fact from the authorities to prevent profit
losses.
Eventually, Minamata Disease was identified as a severe form of mercury
poisoning, and the problem was only solved in the 21st century.
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