Environmental Restorative Justice
Environmental harm destroys and damages not only human beings, but also plants and animals—indeed the whole of nature, including oceans and mountains. Furthermore, communities of local people are divided. Tackling large-scale environmental issues, such as climate change, requires the cooperation of other countries (across national boundaries of interest). Restorative justice is a powerful tool in addressing these issues. Environmental restorative justice also draws attention to the power of art. Art that tells the story of a community’s rich relationships with plants and animals and with rituals and culture, and which expresses grief over the loss of homes, can also be a restorative justice practice. Poetry, paintings, song, and dance are all possibilities for different forms of expression.
To construct a framework for environmental restorative justice, I am conducting research on environmental activities in the Minamata area as a basis for this study. In 1956, Minamata disease patients were officially identified, and a fierce legal battle was conducted in Minamata, starting with the first lawsuit in 1969. At the same time, artists and young people began residing in the Minamata area, and grassroots environmental activities were initiated. By re-examining the history of the Minamata disease movement, I am investigating the ‘fragmentation’ and ‘possibility of reconstruction’ in the local community after destruction of the environment.