Ryoshin Takagi, last surviving member of "itai-itai" disease lawsuit, dies

Ryoshin Takagi, who was the last surviving plaintiff in the landmark "itai-itai" disease lawsuit against a major Japanese company, has died, his family said Tuesday. He was 96.Takagi died at a hospital in the central Japanese city of Toyama at 5:15 p.m. on Sunday from malignant pleural mesothelioma, according to his family.A Toyama native, he lost both his grandmother and mother to the disease, which was caused by cadmium poisoning. The illness was one of four major pollution diseases that emerged in the era of Japan's postwar high economic growth, which also included Minamata disease.Takag…READ FULL ARTICLE