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An interview with Gregory Smits, professor of history and Asian studies at Pennsylvania State University is presented. When asked about who lived in the Ryukyu islands and from where the people come from, he mentions that the islands have existed 400,000 years, before the advent of modern humans. He mentions that Ryukyu islands came under the nominal rule of Shuri, an innovator. He focuses on the discovery of the Gusuku site group in 2006.

The article focuses on the Minamata disease, which was caused by the methyl mercury and other poisonous industrial wastes dumped by the Chisso Corp. into the harbor at the town of Minamata, Japan. The debilitating neurological syndrome first began appearing in the mid 1950s, but won widespread attention only in the 1960s because of the efforts of Japanese writer Ishimure Michiko, local residents and activists. The author claims that Michiko's 1969 book, "Kugai jodo: Waga Minamatabyo," played a major role in alerting the public to the disaster and its horrific consequences.