He weighs 75 kilograms.
He is 155 centimeters tall.
He dominated the floor with a ghastly look by shaking all his hair and raising his left eyelid at an angle.
The man said, staring at the ministers, "Copper poisoning flowing out from the Ashio copper mine could cause terrible damage in each village every year. It is beyond our imagination what disastrous scenes will develop in the future."
His name is Shozo Tanaka.
He was born in 1841 in Shimotsuke (Tochigi Prefecture) He founded the Tochigi Shimbun in 1879 and participated in the Movement for Civic Rights and Freedom. After serving as a member of the prefectural assembly and chairman of the prefectural assembly, he was elected a member of the House of Representatives in the 1st general election in 1890.
Then, he devoted half of his life to the Ashio copper poisoning problem. An outflow of copper poison from the Ashio copper mine threatened the lives of farmers and fishermen in the Nagarase basin. Fields lay in waste, forests lay neglected, and fish floated in the river with their white bellies exposed.
Shozo took action against this terrible scene with great resolve and stridently and persistently questioned the government. He demanded that the mining stop and that a relief fund be established for the victims. He held lecture meetings at many locations and approached the newspapers. He took every opportunity to make his appeals repeatedly and persistently. However, the government only avoided the issue. If neither the parliament nor the government helped, the only way left was a direct petition to the Emperor. Finally, Shozo made up his mind. He resigned from Parliament. He is said to have sent a letter of divorce to his wife. It was 1901 and Shozo was already 60 years old. It was a fine cold day. At about 11:20 on the 10th of December, the Emperor Meiji was on his way back to the Imperial Palace after participating in the opening of the House of Peers. Shozo dashed to the carriage of the emperor with a letter of direct petition held high in his right hand. He was, however, seized by policemen patrolling the road and his attempt at direct petition failed. The government was surprised at this incident. Later, the government released Shozo to veil the case and also in view of public opinion. Shozo was compelled to submit a direct petition to the venerable Emperor Meiji. It was precisely an action of only one person at the risk of his life. Thereafter, the government set up an investigating committee (secondary) on copper poisoning, but the poisoning problem was secretly replaced by a flood control problem and the region was deserted and converted to a flood-control basin. Deserted villages disappeared from the map of Tochigi Prefecture. "Many human beings in the world are now about to be bitten to death by the so-called 'mechanical civilization.' True civilization should not destroy mountains and rivers, should not ruin villages, and should not kill people."
This was Shozo's cry from his heart. 90 years have elapsed since Shozo died in 1913. Humans are still confronted with serious environmental problems.