When he first arrived in Guam, Inujiro, who was in charge of investigating Kumamoto Minamata, also rushed over, claiming that he had found out the origin of the Minamata strange disease.

It turned out that this strange disease was a public nuisance caused by the pollution of industrial wastewater discharge. The main culprit of Minamata disease was the nitrogen production company, which was at the forefront of the world's chemical industry at the time. In 1925, the Japan Nitrogen Fertilizer Company built a plant here, and then opened a synthetic acetic acid plant. In 1949, the company began producing vinyl chloride again. For a long time, the factory discharged untreated wastewater into Minamata Bay. Nitrogen is used in the manufacture of daily necessities such as soap and chemical seasonings, as well as industrial products such as acetic acid and sulfuric acid. However, the unbridled development of this "pioneer industry" has brought endless disasters to the local population and their living environment. In the manufacture of vinyl chloride and vinyl acetate, mercury-containing catalysts are used, which results in a large amount of mercury in the effluent. When mercury is consumed by aquatic organisms in water, it is converted to methylmercury. This highly toxic substance can kill people as long as it is half the size of an ear scoop. Minamata Bay is heavily polluted by industrial wastewater for many years, and the fish and shrimp here are also polluted. These contaminated fish and shrimp enter the bodies of animals and humans through the food chain, and methylmercury is absorbed by the human stomach and intestines, and damages the brain and other organs of the body. Methylmercury entering the brain causes brain atrophy, attacks nerve cells, and disrupts the cerebellum and sensory systems, which hold the body's balance.

In the end, Inujiro sighed: "It turns out that I thought that people like me who sell white goods are the most unconscionable, but this time, these profiteers have done more conscienceless than me, patronizing themselves to make money, and directly discharging those poisonous water into the river, looking at those poisoned and deformed people, this is simply doing evil, I will have to have a heart in the future." You have to live far away from those factories, or you won't know how to die when the time comes. ”

Downing listened to the silence for a long time, this result is similar to what he guessed in advance, in fact, many countries have experienced the situation of pollution first and then treatment in the process of industrial development, and it is said that the Rhine River has been polluted back then. People fall into the river to the extent that they are poisoned first and then drowned, and although they are later vigorously treated, it is claimed that it is clear enough to see the fish, but no one in the locals dares to eat the fish inside

After pondering for a moment, Tang Ning raised his head and instructed Inujiro: "Inujiro, you go to Tokyo, report all the information you investigated to Team Leader Matsuda and Shibu Nishikawa, and ask them to organize the victims to fight lawsuits against the nitrogen fertilizer company and the acetic acid factory, and make the matter bigger." By the way, let's promote the image of our insurance company, and by the way, let the film company use this as the theme to try to make a documentary or horror film. ”

In the following time, Downing devoted himself to the development and promotion of Guam's tourism, and did not return to Okinawa until May Day, because it was a relatively dense holiday Golden Week during May Day in Japan. April 29 is "Showa Day", May 1 is Labor Day, 2 is Sunday, and May 3 is "Constitution Day". The 4th is "Green Day" and the 5th is "Boys' Day". All enterprises and institutions have to take a week off. And the last day of this "Golden Week" is the "Boys' Day" on May 5, which comes from China's "Dragon Boat Festival".

Japanese rice dumplings were introduced from China during the Heian period, when they were first used as an offering during the Dragon Boat Festival in the Imperial Palace, and later spread from the Kansai region to the whole country. The skin of rice dumplings in Japan is not monotonous like in China, but there are white grass, bamboo leaves, artemisia leaves, and so on. So. In Japanese, it is also called "thatchamaki".

Among them, there is a kind of "Mitsuhide rice dumplings" is very interesting, it is said that it was the Warring States period when the heroes competed for hegemony, and the leader Oda Nobunaga saw that he was about to unify the country, who expected that his general Akechi Mitsuhide would rebel and fall short. It is rumored that after Akechi Mitsuhide won the world. I had been waiting for reinforcements to arrive, and I was anxious, so I devoured all the dumplings and belt fillings. When the people found out, they thought that this person lacked a calm kingly spirit. Sure enough, the Mitsuhide regime only lasted about ten days before it collapsed, and was ridiculed by later generations as "the world in three days". At that time, Mitsuhide was eating white rice dumplings wrapped in bamboo leaves. Later, a pastry maker in Kyoto, Japan, turned it into a confectionery, and today is the Japanese rice dumplings. Because of this, many Japanese "Wagashi" shops still sell rice dumplings as traditional Japanese sweets.

In the Edo period of Japan, the rice dumplings made of stem rice were called "Gosho rice dumplings" and "inner wrapped rice dumplings", which were mainly eaten by the imperial palace and the shogunate, and the rice dumplings made of sticky rice were called "rice dumplings". There are also rice dumplings made by burning camellia roots to ashes and putting them in sticky rice, called "Asahina rice dumplings". At the same time, Japan also has "cone dumplings", "rhombic dumplings", "tube dumplings", "decorative dumplings", "weighing hammer brown" according to the different shapes of zongzi, and "Baisuo zongzi" and "Jiuzi zongzi" that boys hope to grow up healthily after eating.

Unlike in China, when Japan celebrates the Dragon Boat Festival, little boys play a game of "calamus". In Japanese, "calamus" and "martial arts" are homonyms, and the Dragon Boat Festival has gradually become a martial festival, which is highly respected by the samurai class. At that time, there were boys under the age of 7 in the family, and they all stood up flags outdoors during the Dragon Boat Festival, decorating armor and human shapes. Later, he replaced the flag with a carp streamer, hoping that the boy would have a career and make a career in the future. This kind of activity requires bravery, and is full of "power" for future generations to inherit and hope, and is naturally related to men, compared to the Daughter's Day on March 3, the Dragon Boat Festival has evolved into a boy's festival by the Japanese. In 1873, after the Meiji government of Japan announced the abolition of the lunar calendar, the Dragon Boat Festival was changed from the fifth day of the fifth month of the lunar calendar to May 5 of the Gregorian calendar. After the war, the Japanese government designated May 5 as "Boy's Day" as a fixed holiday for the whole day.

The bigger the "carp flag", the greater the family's hopes for the boy, and the boy will grow up more. Fortunately, I have got my wish today, and my son has lived up to his parents' expectations. On this day, there are also people in Japan who buy "samurai dolls" and samurai utensils for boys wearing ancient armor to display as a way to wish the children healthy growth. Characters of samurai from Japan's Sengoku period, such as Date Masamune, Takeda Shingen, Naoe Kanesuke, and Uesugi Kennobu, are sold as chocolates.

Although Tang Ning has only one daughter in the family, no son, and can't celebrate Boys' Day, he still sensitively discovered one of the business opportunities, that is, the famous Astro Boy in later generations. (To be continued......)