http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m0WDP/is_1999_May_3/ai_54562953/

“…Hundreds of people died and thousands more were crippled because they ate seafood contaminated with mercury compounds dumped in Minamata Bay by chemical maker Chisso Corp. in the 1950s and 1960s. The disease affects the central nervous system and plagued residents in Minamata. The disease was named after the city….”