以下は、2012年時点の改ざん内容。それ以降も被害者への差別意識で管理するグループ=「被害者はカネをめぐんで下さる加害企業と今ではよろしくやっているんだ。だから文句言うな」などという尾篭なプロパガンダを意図するグループによって、延々と改ざん行為が続き、巧妙化している。どうも被害者がこの世から全滅するまで生業として続けることにしているようだ。もはや、恥も外聞もなく、これが仕事と割り切っている。当サイトは、ウイキペディアの少なくとも「森永ヒ素ミルク中毒事件」に関して、「デジタル百科」失格と判定する。以下はあくまで「第一次改ざん行為」に限定したコメント。今も続く改ざん者の意図がこの時期は特に露骨なので敢えて解説し、読者の参考に資することとする。 2015年現在の最新改ざん状況、ブログ詳報→
2012年1月12日からウソを含む大量改ざんの攻撃をうけてきたウィキペディア(Wikipedia)日本版 「森永ヒ素ミルク中毒事件」ページは、2012年3月2日現在、大筋(いったんは)以前の状態に差し戻された。(その後、改ざんが再開した 2015追記) 3月2日の差し戻しポジションは、管理者サイドの判断であろうか、“「事件のその後」で唐突に中坊公平氏が最大の立役者であるかのように紹介され一方で、その言説を批判する意見が対置されたあたり”にまで戻っている。 ちなみに森永ヒ素ミルク中毒事件の歴史において、元・訴訟弁護団長の中坊公平氏が唯一個人名を伴って「救済者」としてウィキペディアに唐突に登場する記述の異様さには、もはや言葉が見つからない。これは、彼がみずから行った「積極的な」言動とそれに無批判に追随して未だ訂正の意志さえ見せない諸媒体の愚行の成果といえるものであろう。それは取り返しのつかない規模の歴史歪曲を既に社会の隅々にまで蔓延させた。「カネを“めぐんでもらっている“被害者は、むしろ加害企業に感謝すべきだ。これに文句いう被害者は、被害者全体の敵だ」という、日本が新開発しメディア総がかりで世界に流布した恥ずべき拝金主義+全体主義のプロパガンダは、社会的弱者をイデオロギーで管理支配し、市民社会の良識と分断し続け、歴史の痛みを闇に封じ込める巧妙な手口と化した。すでに某独裁国までが真似しようとして、逆に国民からの返り討ちにあっている。今後、このプロパガンダは、あらゆる方面で、もっとも弱い立場の人々・ケースに悪転用され、応用され続けるだろう。同時に、このプロパガンダが、今は亡き犠牲者への最高の冒涜になっていることは言わずもがなだ。 2012.3.2現在(2015年、一部加筆) 差し戻しの経緯に関するウィキペディアンの対話 --------------------------------------------------------------- 以下は、過去の改竄者による記述内容の特徴を追ったものとして、とりあえず歴史アーカイブとして扱うことにする。ただし、悪辣な作為の証拠として今後の社会的監視の教材にすべく、永久に記録にとどめ、公表し続ける↓
以下、記録↓
……… 終わらない公害の「闇」を世間に知らしめ続ける「裸の王様」 ……… People observing the history of the modification can understand corrupt contents of the manipulation well. モラル崩壊!The morals completely collapsed.……… 被害の窮状を削除し、4千字以上のテキスト流し込み「救済事業礼賛」「森永へ感謝する被害者」を演出する者が、同時に行った、「被害者家族への抑圧の正当化」と「森永無罪」論への心理誘導工作。晩節汚す幼稚な振る舞い。 「夢の正」氏は公益財団法人「ひかり協会」の「救済事業」の礼賛だけで3千字以上を流し込み続けている。(2月12日現在4,500字前後)相当長期間にわたって、この行為を続けるつもりのようである。ウィキペディア(Wikipedia)のこのページはウソを含むプロパガンダのページにさま変わりしてしまった。長すぎるので省略するが、裏事情は能瀬英太郎氏によるレポートで一部が公開されている。また、救済事業の二面性や異常性に対しては、被害者家族や市民から数々の訴えが起こされている。報道記事や、それへのレスポンスをみれば、その異様さは一目瞭然だ。 出典を明示しない「主張」をもって、かつて支援してくれた市民を「暴力団」呼ばわりしながら、同時に「財団法人ひかり協会」の事業の説明を延々と加筆し続けている。しかし、被害者に向かって加害企業への感謝まで要求し、個の尊厳を踏みにじる行為の連続の果てに、加害企業から拠出されるカネに基づくところの、一種、生業(なりわい)化した「救済事業」を累々と文言を積み上げ、いくら礼賛してみても、公害防止への歴史的教訓どころか、救済事例の教訓にさえ、なりえようがない。本来、被害者に回るはずの救済資金がいかに消費されているかの是非を抜きにした手前味噌の「事業報告」は、書き連ねること自体が、仕事を確保したい官僚機構のよくある「言い訳」に似て、異様を通り越し、滑稽きわまりない。まるで国民が原子力安全・保安院を批判したら、保安院の過去の抜け穴だらけの指導記録を山のように積み上げて「何が悪い」と開き直って宣伝している様となんら変わりが無い。 さらに、前述の思考は、仮に、加害企業の「社員」が「これだけカネを出してやっているんだ」という被害者への侮蔑的目線で自社を「自画自賛」する場合とも、本質的にどこが違うだろうか。礼賛者の精神構造が、社員、或いは社員の代行者化しているのではないか、との憶測や議論を呼ぶ程度のものでしかなくなる。 それがためらいもなくできるのは、礼賛者が世間並みの功利主義者だからか?といえば、そうではないだろう。これだけ被害者家族への人権侵害や、市民への嫌がらせが社会の表舞台に出ていても、反省を一顧だにしない書きっぷりは世間並みとはいえない。廉恥心を完全に麻痺させられる自己正当化のマインドコントロールに支配されていると考えざるを得ない。 それはさておき、むしろ、この者の真の目的は、前述の要因認定の改ざんに加え、以下の歴史の抹殺と歪曲にある。4千字以上に上る流し込み行為は、これらの意図を隠蔽する一種の陽動作戦で、被害の真の原因と、被害者の現実、救済運動と現状の基金・組織運営の過程で発生しているいかがわしい事態から国民の目をそらせることにあるといえる。↓
NEWS.1---------------------------------------------------- 2012年2月28日 アカウント「真実の声」氏のノートより引用 2012年2月28日「真実の声」氏ノート「平成24年(2012年)1月頃より、ウィキペディアの限定されたスペースへ、バランスを欠いた量の解説を投入することで、読者に対して、現実とは異なる印象を与えるという手法に基づく追加が行われている。また、個人や任意の市民団体への出典・根拠のない「主張」が多数展開されるようになっており、ウィキペディア全体の信憑性を著しく毀損しかねない内容へ変貌を遂げている。 社会全体に存在する意見や議論をバランスよく示すことは必要であるが、ウィキペディアは、特定の団体(それが仮に公益法人であっても)の事業を一面的に宣伝する場ではない。それらは、団体独自の宣伝手段で行うべきである。バランスを欠いた記述者の姿勢は、それ自体が、百科事典の趣旨から外れている。 例えば2012年1月12日以降、構成全体が大掛かりに改造されるにあたって、関係者という項目を新設し、順位をつけて人物を配置しているが、その記述内容を見ると、掲載順位が優先順位と等しい扱いとなっており単なる箇条書きではない。歴史的事実の記述にあたり、この手法を作為をもって利用すると、読者を欺くことにつながる。 また2012年1月12日以降の連続的加筆者は、岡山地裁での名誉毀損訴訟をこの係争事案を、「いずれにしても係争中」と“裁判所に判断をゆだねている”かのように中立的装いで書く一方で、その原告を出典記載もなく一方的に「暴力的」な市民団体の創設者と書き、同時に創設者は「暴力をふるっていない」と読者を混乱させ(文法的にも著しく滑稽である)、印象だけを植えつける手法を使用している。また、このような原告への出典を明示しない独自主張を展開する一方で、被告を弁護・賛美する「主張」を随所に加筆している。この相矛盾した、ダブルスタンダードともいえる「主張」と「加筆」は、読者をないがしろにするだけでなく、真実性の担保というウィキペディアの基本理念を否定するものである。--真実の声 2012年2月28日 (火) 02:33 (UTC)」 2012年2月29日「真実の声」氏ノート 2012年1月12日以降の連続的加筆者は、岡山市在住の良心的一市民を、“暴力的な組織を作った”黒幕であるかのように一方的に記述し、しかも“作った本人が暴力を振るったわけではないが”という、ウイキペディアの公正方針をかいくぐるかのようなレトリックまで使用している。
■「ほとんどの被害者は森永へ感謝」、「被害者は森永へ協力すべき」と一生懸命に主張。
■「夢の正」氏からご都合主義的に褒(ほ)めちぎられる人々。
■故・岡崎哲夫氏への「除名事件」の闇が、逆に、明るみに。
■出典明示のない「主張」。これを世間では、何と言うのだろう。
なお、「夢の正」氏は被害者の窮状を表現した部分をばっさり削除。差別の現実も削除したうえで、現「守る会」「ひかり協会」の大礼賛を行い、故岡崎氏の言論を弾圧した行為を、全員でやったからかまわないと開き直っている。おまけに運動創設者を愚弄する暴言をウイキ上に書きなぐった。彼(彼女?)は、このような個人(故人)への人身攻撃、市民運動への誹謗中傷という改変作業を、以下のようなペースで実施した。 ■「夢の正」氏、 森永乳業の「免罪」へ向けた世論誘導、歴史歪曲をたくらむ? ─なぜ半世紀以上たってから再開されたのか─ ▲文頭へ戻る 2012年1月12日から継続的に続いている「夢の正」氏による大規模な当該ページへの改ざん行為の中で、日本最大の食品公害の要因部分を歪曲しようと意図した見過ごせない部分がある。これは今後への教訓として定着しておく価値があると考え、真実を対置、記録する。(ウイキペディアンも教訓にしてほしい。そもそも企業犯罪に「中立的記述」なるものが有り得るのかという議論はさておき、ウィキペディアという土台が、歴史歪曲の格好の土俵となり、人間の尊厳を脅かす両刃の剣とならぬよう、今後の対策を願うばかりだ。) 以下は、2012年1月12日からウィキペディア(Wikipedia)日本版「森永ヒ素ミルク中毒事件」ページの大量改ざんを行った「夢の正」氏がもっとも力を入れたと思われる部分である。よく読んで頂きたい。 -------------------------------------------------------- 「森永乳業は、1953年(昭和28年)頃から全国の工場で乳製品の溶解度を高めるため、第二リン酸ソーダを粉ミルクに添加していたが、1955年(昭和30年)に徳島工場(徳島県名西郡石井町)が製造した缶入り粉ミルク(代用乳)「森永ドライミルク」の製造過程で用いられた添加物・工業用の第二燐酸ソーダに、不純物として砒素が含まれていた。これは、その時に「第二リン酸ソーダ」と思って使用した物質が、日本軽金属清水工場でボーキサイトからアルミニウムを製造する過程でできた廃棄物を脱色再結晶させた物質で、化学的には第二リン酸ソーダとまったく異なる物質であった。その物質がひ素などの有害物質を大量に含んでいたのであった。 にもかかわらず、使用にあたって、森永乳業は安全性を確認することなく、安易に使用した。国も、その流通過程で静岡県知事から毒物にあたるかどうかの照会があったにもかかわらず、適切な措置を取らなかったばかりか、事件発生後の1955(昭和30)年11月になってから…(後略)…」 -------------------------------------------------------- 特に、なにも問題点を感じられない方も多いだろう。実に良くできた、改ざん文書である。 上掲の文章は、いかにも客観的な装いの記事となっている。ところが重大な作為が紛れ込まされている。今度は、特に注意を要する箇所を太字にしてみる。 真実をねじ曲げ、歴史を偽造する、「とどめの一行」 -------------------------------------------------------- 「森永乳業は、1953年(昭和28年)頃から全国の工場で乳製品の溶解度を高めるため、第二リン酸ソーダを粉ミルクに添加していたが、1955年(昭和30年)に徳島工場(徳島県名西郡石井町)が製造した缶入り粉ミルク(代用乳)「森永ドライミルク」の製造過程で用いられた添加物・工業用の第二燐酸ソーダに、不純物として砒素が含まれていた。これは、その時に「第二リン酸ソーダ」と思って使用した物質が、日本軽金属清水工場でボーキサイトからアルミニウムを製造する過程でできた廃棄物を脱色再結晶させた物質で、化学的には第二リン酸ソーダとまったく異なる物質であった。その物質がひ素などの有害物質を大量に含んでいたのであった。 にもかかわらず、使用にあたって、森永乳業は安全性を確認することなく、安易に使用した。国も、その流通過程で静岡県知事から毒物にあたるかどうかの照会があったにもかかわらず、適切な措置を取らなかったばかりか、事件発生後の1955(昭和30)年11月になってから…(後略)…」 -------------------------------------------------------- 五行目 「これは、その時に『第二リン酸ソーダ』と思って使用した物質が…」 この25文字の追加記述が邪悪である。加害企業・森永乳業が当時主張した欺瞞的な「森永乳業は被害者」論につながる主張である。「夢の正」氏は、「公益財団法人ひかり協会」の「事業内容」を礼賛する3,000字以上にのぼる大量流し込みの陰に隠れて、この25文字の追加をし、森永ヒ素ミルク中毒事件のもっとも重要な原因の偽造を開始した。 第二審で「結果回避義務」により有罪となった森永を、第一審の「森永無罪」をもたらした「予見可能性」論議へと引き戻すたくらみ。 森永乳業を一審で無罪放免にした「森永は被害者」論 森永乳業の弁護のために動いた御用専門家で構成される「第三者委員会」=「五人委員会」は、森永を弁護する「五人委員会意見書」で、こう述べている。 「…函の胴面に黒色文字で 『第二リン酸ソーダ松野製薬会社』 と明示して…(中略)…徳島工場がこれを従来通り安定剤として特に疑うところなく使用したことが推定される。」と前置し、その後、事件発生時に検出された「第二燐酸ソーダ」の成分分析を紹介して、「第二リンサンソーダとは全く違う、ヒ酸ソーダを含有する燐、ヴァナジン、ソーダなどの混合雑物であって、未だ正式の化学名はないが、強いていえば『第三リンサンソーダを主成分とする複合体』」 であると記述している。(出典:「砒素ミルク1」森永告発刊 ) 巨大な嘘=「森永は薬品業者に騙された被害者」─五人委員会意見書 「五人委員会意見書」は、 “函の文字と異なる別物を納入した薬品業者”の姿を演出した。それに続いて、 “森永乳業は、純度の高い第二リン酸ソーダと思い込んで、継続的に仕入れて使っていた。そして特に問題(※あくまで急性症状だが)も発生していないので、急に粗悪品を納入した薬品業者に、森永乳業はだまされた形となった。したがって森永乳業は被害者である” というロジックを発明し、世間に「中立的」な装いをもった「第三者委員会」の「意見書」として公表したのである。 「森永乳業は被害者」論のスタートである。この係争上の悪どいレトリックにより、その後16年間にわたって被害者は、完全に圧殺されてしまうのである。現在でもこのレトリックはさまざまな食品事故で多用される。 第二リン酸ソーダを敢えて添加した理由。 さらに、工業品由来の第二リン酸ソーダを使い、出荷に際して最低限の検査も省いた森永 ※その背景事情は(「砒素ミルク1」 森永告発刊 48-53pに詳しい http://ww3.tiki.ne.jp/~jcn-o/morinaga-hiso-book-hisomilk1-1pdf.PDF 問題点は以下のとおりである。 1.森永乳業が第二リン酸ソーダを使用した背景事情。 まず森永乳業は、営業先行で原材料供給が追いつかず、遠隔地からの調達により、原乳が腐敗直前のものを使っていた(※)事を、あたかも新鮮であるかのように見せかける目的で、「第二燐(リン)酸ソーダ」を赤ん坊の唯一の栄養源である粉ミルクに投入していた。(当時の「国鉄」《現・JR》は、ボイラー洗浄用に同一薬品を購入したが、検査の結果、ヒ素含有量が多いため返品している) この、主に清罐剤や洗剤、殺虫剤などの用途に使用される第ニ燐酸ソーダを、乳児用粉ミルクに入れるという発想自体が倫理にもとる行為である。当時でも、他の乳製品業界では全然使われていなかった。(出典:「砒素ミルク1」 森永告発刊 44-51p) だが仮に使う場合でも守らねばならない最低限の「掟」があるが、以下2項にわたって、それを守らなかった。 2.通常、食品添加物として使われるものは、日本薬局方に定められた試薬一級品の「第二リン酸ソーダ」である。ところが、当時森永乳業徳島工場では、初期には試薬一級品を使ったが、その後取りやめ、工業品(アルミ精製過程から生まれる)由来の「第二リン酸ソーダ」を導入、粉ミルクへの投入を目分量で開始していた。 3.森永は、出荷にあたって、機器検査もせず、官能検査(※)もしていなかった。 ※実際に製造元の関係者が製品を食べてみる等の人間の感覚器官を通じての検査 1.2.3.を総合的に見れば、森永はもはや、人(赤ちゃん)の口に入る食品を作っている感覚さえ、実質的に無かったといえるほどである。 食品業界全体からみても、にわかには信じがたい偽装を犯し、三重、四重の怠慢を放置していた。 森永の証拠隠滅工作 実は、事件発覚直後から、森永はこの点を隠蔽・偽装する必要性を良く認識しており、徳島市内にある薬局に、夜な夜な社員(徳島工場関係者)を走らせ、試薬一級品の局方薬の第二燐酸ソーダの買い集めを図った。この事実を当時の検察は重大な「共同謀議として動かぬ立証が得られた」として把握している。(昭和30年9月7日付 山陽新聞)(出典:「砒素ミルク1」 森永告発刊 40p、44-51p) 「その時に 『第二リン酸ソーダ』 と思って使用した物質が」 という短い文言には、およそ、文脈というものの重要性を知る人間からすれば、この5人委員会の目指した「森永は被害者」論を流布する意図が象徴的に込められているとしか思えないものである。 「法的に過失を認定する中核概念が、予見可能性から結果回避義務という新しい基準に移行する契機となった本事件は、法曹界の学習に大いに貢献したといえる」中島貴子「食品のリスク評価と専門知の陥穽に関する歴史的考察」より さらに、この者の陰険さは、「思って使用した」者は誰なのかという主語を「忘れたフリ」をして、巧妙に省いたりするところである。 「その時に」の前に主語として「森永」を挿入すれば、「5人委員会意見書」と同様のロジックと意図が鮮明に浮かび上がる。 主語をあいまいにし、その後に続く「化学的には第二リン酸ソーダとはまったく異なる物質であった」という文言の間に、一行、精製工程の説明をもっともらしく挿入し、関連付けを悟られないようにした。これが巧妙である。と、同時に、相当長期にわたって、歴史を偽造していく強い意思が感じられる。今回はその第一弾なのだろう。 そして、当時、森永が薬品納入業者からの継続的納入の繰り返しにおける『信頼性の原則』を声高に主張し、自らの『予見可能性』がいかにも困難であったかのような偽りを演出したことに習って、「森永の予見“不“可能性」が読者にそれとなく印象として残るように導いている。きわめて悪質な心理誘導である。 ↓ -------------------------------------------------------- その時に「第二リン酸ソーダ」と思って使用した物質が、日本軽金属清水工場でボーキサイトからアルミニウムを製造する過程でできた廃棄物を脱色再結晶させた物質で、化学的には第二リン酸ソーダとまったく異なる物質であった。その物質がひ素などの有害物質を大量に含んでいたのであった。 (ページタイトルが「ヒ素」なのに意固地になって、「ひ素」に変えたがる。やたらと用語統一をしたがる、良くありがちなイデオロギーグループの性癖がみてとれる。)-------------------------------------------------------- ↓主語を挿入し、一行を省略して結合すると、 -------------------------------------------------------- その時に(森永乳業)が「第二リン酸ソーダ」と思って使用した物質が化学的には第二リン酸ソーダとまったく異なる物質であった。その物質がひ素などの有害物質を大量に含んでいたのであった。 -------------------------------------------------------- こうなると「5人委員会意見書」の印象に酷似する。文章を読み、心に「印象を残す」人間の特性をよく把握しているプロパガンダのプロの仕業である。 (まことに、一方で大企業批判を売り物にするグループが、一方で利権のためには、企業と裏で手を組む姿と、いかに酷似していることか。) ちなみに、当時、森永乳業・徳島工場は、計量器が壊れており、それを修理することもさぼって、目分量で工業品(産廃)由来の“不純物の多すぎる第二リン酸ソーダ様”のものを投入していた。生産管理、品質管理のずさんさは、度外れたものであり、証拠隠滅に走り回った行為は「第二リン酸ソーダと思って」などという「森永の安全思い込み」仮説なるものが、初めから存在しないことを示している。また、出荷に当たっての検査もしていなかった事実は、こと、購買品受け入れ検査だけの問題などではない、食品製造業者にあるまじき深刻な怠惰があったことを示している。 そして、以下の、「にもかかわらず、使用にあたって、森永乳業は安全性を確認することなく、安易に使用した」と、一見、森永乳業を批判する装いをとっても、偽りの「森永は被害者」論を前提にすれば、裁判では、「森永も毎回検査していれば“騙される”ことはなかった」という別の言語が登場し、「森永は騙された被害者の位置づけ」となり、「無罪」となるのである。 この重大なトリックをあえて玉虫色の表現でウイキペディアに登場させたのである。歴史の核心部分の改ざんがいかにあっけなく行われるかという現実をここに記しておく。 「夢の正」氏がその後に追加、削除した膨大なデータは「履歴」タグから追跡できるが、その信憑性といかがわしさはもはや「押して知るべし」であろう。 なお、ウィキペディア(Wikipedia)をみた市民から、以下のような意見が、次々と寄せられている。 書き換えられた文章を読む限り、森永の責任を免除し、国への責任転嫁の作為があります。差戻し徳島判決を読むと被告の小山課長は、第2リン酸ソーダを安定剤につかうことの研究に、最初からかかわっていたとあります。当時食品製造業者や薬品販売業者は第2リン酸ソーダの無規格品を食品に使用することは危惧する声があったようです。小山被告は工業用第2リン酸ソーダの危険性と、食品に添加するには「局方品」「試薬」を使用しなくてはならないことを熟知していたようです。差戻し審では「結果回避義務」を適用され、そのためには「科学的検査」などの防止義務を講じるべきと認定されています。書き換え者は「第1審森永無罪」の理論にすがっているようです。控訴審ではそれが否定されたことを無視しています。歴史が逆回転を始めています。 以上 森永ヒ素ミルク中毒事件 資料館 Museum of Morinaga Arsenic Milk Poisoning Incident 公式WEBサイト http://ww3.tiki.ne.jp/~jcn-o/hiso.htm ▲文頭へ戻る ■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■ 森永ヒ素ミルク中毒事件の概要は、以下の文献、及び当サイトの学術論文アーカイブからも、ご覧頂けます。 ↓現在の問題点にまで踏み込んだ能瀬英太郎氏のレポート ↓能瀬レポート 英語版 (Nose Report) 表向き「公正中立」を偽装して登場した「第三者委員会」が、被害者を無視して 勝手に作った不正な「診断基準」。その文中に使われた「原病」という表現に ついての解説つき。↓ 能瀬レポート日英対訳版 まだ解決を見ない日本の戦後初の産業公害 PDF:136KB (著作権Free: 英語教育の教材等ご自由にコピーしてお使い下さい。) (日本における第三者委員会方式は森永事件以降、常用され、水俣病でも被害の隠蔽に活用されるようになるという要注意なもの。) Industrial Pollution in Japan Chap. 3: The Arsenic Milk Poisoning Incident Shoji, Kichiro/Sugai, Masuro United Nations University Press 1992 http://d-arch.ide.go.jp/je_archive/society/book_jes5_d04.html PDF:1.55MB (English) ↓救済システムでの問題発生を学術的視点からすでに予期している秀逸な論文。 総目次ページへ戻る トップページへ戻る ---------------------------------------------------------- The Morinaga Milk Arsenic Poisoning Incident : 50 Years On A report outlining the Implementation Status of the Victims Relief Project Volunteers in support of the complete implementation of a permanent control strategy Eitaro NOSE 2005 Table of Contents Preface 3 1. Outline of the incident 5 2. Response to the incident 11 ・ ・ ・ 3. Always keep the passion to fight 4. The 14th year 5. Movement of investigation into Morinaga has been spreading 6. Flame of the permanent control strategy 7. Foundation of Hikari association 8. Contents of the permanent control strategy 9. Status of the implementation of the permanent control strategy (1) 10. Status of the implementation of the permanent control strategy (2) 11. Status of the implementation of the permanent control strategy (3) 12. Current status of the victims relief・4 cases Afterword・chronological table Preface Fifty years has passed since the occurrence of arsenic poisoning caused by Morinaga Milk Company (hereafter known as Morinaga). Most victims of this incident except for a few were newborn babies. According to the report released by the ministry of Welfare at the end of 1955, the number of individuals affected was 11,778 and a further 113 had died. One of the most notable characteristics of the Morinaga milk incident is the large number of people from the same age group who fell victim to the poison. It is very rare for a single incident to impact such a large number of people as this one did. In 2011 the victims of the Morinaga milk incident will be turning 50 or 51 years old. It was the summer of 1955 when the powdered milk produced at the Morinaga factory in Tokushima was shipped to nearby prefectures in western Japan. The factory’s location in Tokushima is the reason that the majority of poisoning victims were concentrated in the western region of the country. The infants and babies affected by the poisoning were unable to communicate which made it difficult to isolate a reason for their illness. This, in turn, caused the damage to spread. As milk in an essential part of an infant’s diet, consumers, particularly mothers, did not suspect it was causing the illness and therefore continued to feed the powdered milk to their children. If they had been only a little bit older, they could have told their mothers, “Mommy, when you give me the milk I always get a stomach ache,” but instead all they could do was cry. Their tears were most likely caused by the pain and discomfort from the poisoning. In fact, it was reported that babies who were fed the poisoned milk cried louder than usual during the night. Fifty years has passed since these events occurred. Many of the victims’ parents have passed away or become very old. Their eternal love for their children was the driving force behind the permanent control strategy, which was developed over a twelve-month period, thirty-one years ago. We have named our victims relief association the “Hikari association”. “Hikari” is the Japanese word for “shine” and it is the families’ wish that when this strategy’s implementation is complete, a light will be able to “shine” on the victims of these terrible events. The victims’ relief project and permanent control strategy by the Hikari association are insufficient and have been ignored so far. In the interest of the victims and their families affected by the Morinaga milk incident, all our efforts are required for this strategy to be effectively implemented. We would like to inspect the current status of this strategy’s implementation and increase public awareness of the lack of action taken thus far. We have been considering the reasons that some items are yet to be implemented and will endeavor to base our inspection on concrete evidence. We hope that publishing this report will help the permanent control strategy to proceed further. 1. Outline of the incident At the end of June in 1955, a strange illness spread among bottle-fed children in the western part of Japan. According to their mothers, those children started suffering from fever and diarrhea without showing any other symptoms beforehand. They were also throwing up the milk that was fed to them and doctors were not able to identify a specific reason for their sickness. It was on August 10th when this illness was reported for the first time, appearing in Okayama’s Sanyo newspaper. The writer of the article, Mr. K, was himself a parent with an 8-month-old daughter. The newspaper headline read “Babies affected by the summer heat; Many occurrences in the southern part of Okayama prefecture. Some serious cases with anemia.” The article went on, “Due to the continuous heat during summer, babies, particularly in the southern part of Okayama prefecture are suffering from anemia. This has resulted in some infants in a critical condition in Okayama University Hospital and Okayama Red Cross General Hospital in the past week. Extreme cases are exhibiting symptoms similar to those of leukemia sufferers. In these instances patients have lost up to a quarter of their blood and have required treatments such as blood-forming medicine or blood transfusions.” Mr. K had been covering Okayama Red Cross General Hospital at the time and was told by one of the nurses that “a ‘black’ baby has been coming for examinations recently”. He became curious and enquired about this to the head doctor, to which the response was “I think it is Molinia. Some antibiotic medicines, such as penicillin, cause the whole body to become moldy and the skin to turn black.” At the time of the first report, Mr. K’s brother and 10-month-old niece were visiting from Tokyo. Both Mr. K’s own daughter and his niece were bottle-fed babies who had consumed Morinaga powdered milk. Soon after they were fed the milk, they started suffering from diarrhea. When they were presented at Okayama Red Cross General Hospital, their doctor said “You do not have to worry, but stop using the Morinaga powdered milk and change to one from another company.” It was not until twelve days later, on August 24th that the powdered milk produced by the Morinaga Milk Company was found to be mixed with arsenic. Mr. K’s daughter and niece recovered as soon as they stopped consuming Morinaga powdered milk. Mr. K started to wonder about this incident and frequent Okayama Red Cross General Hospital. On August 19th, he found the letter “M” on the records of 16 patients who had been hospitalized there. It turned out that all those who had been marked with an “M” were patients who had consumed Morinaga powdered milk. Mr. K wrote a draft article which was due to be printed on the morning of August 10th. Its content included a reference to “infants who had been fed Morinaga powdered milk” but this draft was not published in the morning edition, rather it appeared later that day, in the evening edition. Moreover, during the editing process “fed Morinaga powdered milk” was changed to “bottle-fed”. It is claimed that this change was made “for a reason ordered by the company”, according to Mr. K’s memoranda from ‘Pursue a “strange illness”’ in 20 years History of the Fight against Arsenic Poisoning by Morinaga. It had been clear “since around August 5th” that something was wrong with Morinaga powdered milk products. In the publication, A Report on the Occurrence of Arsenic Poisoning by Powdered Milk in Okayama Prefecture, a diary entry written by Dr. Eiji Hamamoto, pediatrics professor in the Okayama University medical department, makes reference to this date. All of the pediatricians at Okayama Red Cross General Hospital were pupils of Dr. Hamamoto and some doctors from Okayama University Hospital had sought help there. This meant information about the recent events reached both hospitals immediately. This begs the question, what if they had announced the danger of Morinaga powdered milk in early August when it was first detected? Furthermore, had they made an announced on August 12th when Mr.K presented his baby, the damage would have been significantly less. Instead, the announcement was postponed until August 24th, when arsenic was found in the Morinaga powdered milk products tested at the forensic medicine laboratory within Okayama University medical department. On August 24th 1955, this incident was given extensive coverage in every newspaper. The Asahi newspaper headline read “Strange illness occurring in bottle-fed babies. Three dead in Okayama”, however, the word “Morinaga” did still not appear in the headline of Okayama’s Sanyo newspaper. As a result of this, readers were not aware that consumption of Morinaga powdered milk was the cause of illness unless they read the whole body of the article. It was assumed by many that the issue was common to all bottle-fed babies. Numerous mothers who became upset by the article rushed to hospital and lined up outside in spite of the hot weather to present their babies. Out of 197 bottle-fed babies who were presented to Okayama University Hospital on August 25th, 94 were found to be suffering arsenic poisoning from Morinaga powdered milk. In Okayama Red Cross General Hospital there was not enough room for all the patients so some were forced to occupy beds in the halls. A newspaper article on August 25th reported the number of patients in Okayama prefecture to be 216, and more than 100 in each prefecture of Kinki, Chugoku, Shikoku regions. In Okayama, five patients had officially died from the poisoning and even more deaths were estimated. It was reported that patients were showing symptoms of high fever, diarrhea, darkened skin, and their abdomens had swollen up. The following day, the number of patients nationwide reached 1463, and 23 were dead. The medicine used to treat the arsenic poisoning was British anti-Lewisite (BAL). BAL was originally discovered in the United Kingdom during the Second World War as an antidote for arsenic gas used in combat. Who could ever have imagined that such a virulent poison was being mixed with powdered milk designed for babies? The information about why arsenic was present in the powdered milk was the cause of much confusion. Arsenic had only been found in a powdered milk product called “MF Can” which was produced at a factory in Tokushima. While thirteen of the elements added to the powdered milk were taken to Okayama University medical department for examination, no trace of arsenic was detected in any of them. It was actually the Morinaga factory in Tokushima who announced that arsenic had been found in sodium phosphate, a chemical being used as a stabilizer. The stabilizer had not been sent for examination so all of the tests performed during the investigation had effectively been done so in vain. It had not been known to anybody but producers that a stabilizer was being used in the powdered milk. At the time, there were no refrigerated tanker trucks for transportation, so the milk was becoming oxidized on the long trip from the farm to the factory. The quality of the milk used was a major factor. If milk of low quality is used for powdered milk products, it is difficult to dissolve in water for consumption. This problem does not occur if good quality milk is used. In the case of Morinaga, the milk being used was almost rotten therefore they needed to add sodium phosphate as a stabilizer. According to the press release by Morinaga, they had been using this stabilizer since 1952. Sodium phosphate can be classified into three grades of purity, known as reagents, these are: the first reagent, the second reagent, and the grade suitable for industrial use. Believe it or not, the type of sodium phosphate that Morinaga had been adding to their milk was the one for industrial use, which is more commonly used as an insecticide or for cleaning boilers. In fact, during the time in question, the scales at the factory were broken so the stabilizer was not measured before being added. This is why the amount of arsenic found in each product was different depending on the date of production and lot number. The sodium phosphate in which the arsenic was found was actually produced from industrial waste. This particular waste was generated during the process of refining bauxite into aluminum at the Nippon Light Metal Company, Ltd. factory in Shimizu. It was first delivered to Japanese National Railways (currently JR) but was returned due to the presence of arsenic. This sodium phosphate was delivered to Morinaga factory in Tokushima after being rejected by many medicine companies. The Nippon Light Metal Company made an inquiry to the Ministry of Welfare via Shizuoka Prefectural Sanitation as to whether this “medicine” would constitute as a poison, in accordance with the “Poisonous and Deleterious Substances Control Law” of November 1954. They did not receive an answer from the Ministry of Welfare until November 1955, the following year. If their response had been completed much earlier, this incident would never have occurred. Aside from these details, it is needless to say that all producers have a responsibility to their customers when it comes to product quality. Including components that are best used for cleaning trains, as demonstrated by Morinaga, is nothing short of irresponsible and dangerous. Nothing can excuse the actions of Morinaga. It is clear that they neglected both their duty of care as well as and security practices, which in turn lead to this incident. In contrast, once the investigation was underway Morinaga insisted in criminal court that they had been “deceived by the medical company”. Morinaga claimed to have thought the medicine was the same as what they had been using before, therefore did not check for quality. They claimed this was an offence by the medical company against “the principle of trust”. The response from the medical company was mixed. On one hand they accepted the fact that they had actually delivered a low quality product. On the other hand, they stated, “if Morinaga had made it clear what the medicine was to be used for, we would have delivered the proper product.” The medical company did not ask about the usage of their medicine because Morinaga wanted it to remain confidential. The reason Morinaga chose to use low quality milk as a material was due to a sudden increase in their share of the powdered milk market. This growth was the result of an effective marketing campaign, which included a baby contest and commercials featuring well-known personalities. Their market share had exceeded 50% by 1955. The amount of milk Morinaga collected increased by 3.1 times over the period between 1950 and 1955. Morinaga had outdistanced their competitors, Yukijirushi and Meiji, by 2 times and 2.6 times respectively. As previously mentioned, there would have been no need to use a stabilizer at all if only Morinaga had used fresh milk as a material. Although they had been advertising that Beta Dry Milk, a higher-ranking product than MF Can, was safe, it turned out not to be true according to a recent thesis. (Nakashima. T, 2005, 50 years since the case of arsenic poisoning caused by Morinaga Milk, Vol. 3, p. 90-101). Morinaga was found not guilty at the first trial in Tokushima district court on October 25, 1963. At a review by an appellate court in Takamatsu high court on March 31, 1966, the original decision was reversed and remanded. Following this, at a hearing in the Supreme Court, a final appeal was rejected on February 27, 1969. Eventually, it was through Tokushima district court that the head of factory production at Morinaga, Tokushima was sentenced to three years’ imprisonment. Eighteen years had passed since the indictment was first issued. It was one of the top ten longest lawsuits in history. 2. Treatment for the incident From August 27th, 1955, the families of the victims started coming together to move towards a negotiation with Morinaga. Mr. Tetsuo Okazaki wrote a leaflet containing a proposition “for an alliance of families of the Morinaga Milk arsenic poisoning victims”. Mr. Okazaki’s own daughter had been receiving treatment in Okayama Red Cross General Hospital. This leaflet was handed out to the family of each victim on every floor of the hospital by some victims’ parents. Families agreed to the proposition as soon as they read it and eagerly expressed their support for the alliance to proceed. The movement was reported in the newspaper the following day, which resulted in other alliances being organized in both Okayama University Hospital and Kurashiki Central Hospital. Representatives of each hospital gathered on August 31st and agreed to hold a rally on September 3rd. At the rally, an alliance of arsenic poisoning victims from Okayama prefecture was decided upon. Mr. Okazaki was selected as the first chairman. Members of this alliance visited a Morinaga resident office in Okayama and gave notice that the organization had been formed. Their proposal was that, after due consultation, Morinaga should enact an immediate response to the incident. At the group negotiation with Morinaga executives on September 6th, Morinaga ended up promising to pay only 3,000 yen to each non-hospitalized patient and 10,000 yen to each hospitalized patient to cover doctor’s fees and as general compensation. Following the establishment of these alliances, families of victims nationwide started to rally together as well. On September 19th, thirty representatives from nine prefectures gathered in Okayama city and held an inauguration meeting, the “National conference of the Morinaga Milk Incident Victims’ Alliance ”. Members of Zenkyo reported that they were suffering financial difficulty from doctor’s and hospital fees and expressed concern about possible aftereffects of the poisoning. They also stated their dissatisfaction with Morinaga’s insincere attitude toward the events, as well as the inequality in their reimbursements. It was announced after three days of negotiation between Zenkyo and Morinaga that Morinaga would pay; 430 yen per day towards carer costs, the actual cost for commuting, and 150 yen per day for any other cost relating to commuting. They also decided to raise the payment for non-hospitalized patients by 2,000 yen and provide three cans of milk per patient as replacement for the contaminated milk they had purchased. Morinaga further responded that they would propose a tentative plan for condolence money for deceased patients. Morinaga, however, gave notice on October 17th that further negotiations would be postponed. On October 22nd, the Ministry of Welfare announced to the media, “Morinaga has requested advice from the Ministry of Welfare about the issue of compensation for the poisoning incident. The Ministry of Welfare has advised that a neutral committee of well-informed persons be organized and that a solution to this problem be left for this group to decide.” Members of the committee were Mr. Teizo Utsumi, Mr. Takeo Koyama, Ms. Shigeko Tanabe, Mr. Ryo Masaki, Mr. Tasuku Yamasaki. All five of them agreed to become members on the proviso that Morinaga would follow their decision unconditionally. Morinaga accepted this request as well. The explanation Morinaga gave to Zenkyo was different from this official version. They claimed that, “All of the sudden a five-member committee has been organized and we were told to cease negotiations about reimbursements, condolence payments or otherwise, with Zenkyo from now on. We will not continue our negotiations”. Zenkyo decided against the five-member-committee. On December 15th, an opinion report by the committee was published. Zenkyo saw problems with the compensation amount for victims and with the question of aftereffects. It can be summarized as below. 1. Compensation for the dead 250,000 yen 2. Compensation for surviving victims 10 000 yen, regardless of seriousness 3. No consideration of aftereffects 4. Additional compensation for hospitalized patients is maximum 2,000 yen 5. The amount of compensation Morinaga has already paid is to be deducted from the figures shown above. This conclusion demonstrates the way in which Morinaga borrowed the power of the government to authorize compensation that had already been paid. This ensured they would not have to reissue any payments following the outcome. In the committee’s report, the lead up to the conclusion was around 30,000 characters long. On the other hand, in the actual conclusion, which is the most critical part, only 170 characters were used. The conclusion reads as follows: “These special doctors have considered all the opinions and concluded that ‘there is generally no need to worry about the aftereffect of this poisoning. The symptoms which are present now are not an aftereffect of the poisoning, rather they are GENBYO .’ We have decided not to set any other standard for compensation besides those outlined in the conclusion of Chapter 2, and in general remarks (3) of the 1st paragraph.” I wondered if there would be any criticism of this opinion report and checked some newspapers but found nothing. I thought to myself, what could be an “original illness” for mere 1 year-old baby? The content of this opinion report was the same as what Morinaga had put forward in criminal court. The intention of this report was to depict Morinaga as a victim who had been deceived by a medical company. That was what the “neutral,” five-member committee was really about. The day following this announcement, a copy of the opinion report and a notice from Morinaga stating, “the content of this opinion report will be in effect immediately” were sent to each victim. The rest of the owed compensation was sent to all hospitalized and non-hospitalized patients by registered mail next day. It was very polite of them to enclose a government?printed post card as a receipt so that the victims could post it with ease. In spite of the committee’s decision, Zenkyo made the following request: Payment of 500,000 yen as compensation for the dead Establishment of a regular check-up system Establishment of a research laboratory for arsenic poisoning Six years Payment of 2,000 yen per month as health management money for serious and moderately serious cases. Zenkyo decided to boycott Morinaga if their request was refused. Morinaga responded to Zenkyo by saying that their opinion report was official and they would therefore not accept the request. They said that besides this they would create a detailed plan for regular check-ups, as well as the laboratory for arsenic poisoning. To represent their discontent with this response, Zenkyo initiated a boycott. Companies such as Japanese National Railways who were associated with many victims, cooperated with the boycott and removed Morinaga products from their supplies section. Despite this, the boycott did not spread to the general public so it ended up not causing large-scale damage to Morinaga. Some members of Zenkyo were abused or bribed by Morinaga in a maneuver intending to split and confuse the movement. No repentance was shown by Morinaga whose actions had already led to the death of many people in what was clearly a mistake on their part. Prior to this incident, there had been some cases of arsenic poisoning in the world but none involving children. On October 3rd, the Ministry of Welfare asked the Japan Medical Association to establish a small committee within the Society of Child Health and introduce “Standards for diagnosis”. According to “Standards for judgment of healing”: 1. Essential conditions: a) general symptoms are not seen, b) blood condition has recovered and is almost normal, c) kidney has become soft and shrunk to the size of two fingers. 2. Collateral conditions: a) if the electrocardiogram does not appear normal, continuing control is essential, b) if the state of the eyes does not appear normal, continuing control is essential, c) some pigment deposit left does not have to be considered, d) for addicts with symptoms other than those above, a decision will be made following special examination. Most of the patients had been told they had recovered. This led to huge problems later on. Anxious about the risk of aftereffects, members of Zenkyo persevered with the Morinaga negotiations and at the end of March 1956 also petitioned the government in order to find a solution to this situation. As a result, the government gave an official notice to each prefecture asking that they establish a closed examination system for managing aftereffects. The notice said; (1) Available to both hospitalized and non-hospitalized patients who are undergoing treatment (2) Patients who are concerned about aftereffects following convalescence should be admitted to a hospital with various departments and are advised to undergo treatment if their symptoms are a result of poisoning. All costs are to be covered by Morinaga Around that time, Zenkyo was running out of struggle funds. Zenkyo head offices in each prefecture had been calling for compromise. Members of Zenkyo decided that they would not continue their struggle any longer. On April 9th, a compromise agreement including items (1) and (2) as mentioned above was reached between Morinaga and Zenkyo and entitled “Matters of a laboratory and further offers”. The details are as follows: 1. Morinaga will offer 30,000 yen for all deceased victims to cover the cost of a memorial service, incense and flowers for the first anniversary. 2. Morinaga will establish a public corporation to support research. 3. Morinaga will offer two cans of Beta dry milk (1 pound each) to all victims. Parents were still worried about aftereffects. According to the questionnaire done by Okayama association in February 1956, only 18 out of 137 members answered they had recovered perfectly. Morinaga sent out a notice to all the victims saying, “Treatment underway at each hospital will be discontinued at the end of January. Patients who remain concerned can be examined at Okayama University Hospital pediatrics unit. If it is deemed that symptoms were caused by arsenic poisoning, patients will able to receive treatment at the expense of Morinaga.” This meant that only a certificate from Okayama University Hospital would be accepted. Though all patients except for a few were told that they had recovered perfectly, they were still suffering from hypertrophy of kidney, anemia, skin diseases, eye diseases and diarrhea. These symptoms were considered by Morinaga to be a GENBYO and the fee was on the patients. The strength of the bond between Morinaga and Okayama prefecture can be seen by the fact that first place of the Morinaga baby contest was awarded in Okayama. At a round-table discussion for “50 years history of Morinaga Milk”, a Morinaga employee spoke about how Professor Hamamoto of Okayama University Hospital had been a great help, and how Sanyo Newspaper had been very favorable, as had official institutions such as Okayama prefectural office and a state health center. Thanks to them, their marketing share had increased by over 70% where it had previously been only 20%. The extensive damage caused by the poisoning in Okayama prefecture might have be due to a cozy relationship between industries, universities, official institutions and a local newspaper company. Continue…. ▲文頭へ戻る 総目次ページへ戻る トップページへ戻る |