<P> Itai - itai disease was caused by cadmium poisoning due to mining in Toyama Prefecture . The earliest records of mining for gold in the area date back to 1710 . Regular mining for silver started in 1589 , and soon thereafter , mining for lead , copper , and zinc began . Increased demand for raw materials during the Russo - Japanese War and World War I , as well as new mining technologies from Europe , increased the output of the mines , putting the Kamioka Mines in Toyama among the world 's top mines . Production increased even more before World War II . Starting in 1910 and continuing through 1945 , cadmium was released in significant quantities by mining operations , and the disease first appeared around 1912 . Prior to World War II , the mining , controlled by the Mitsui Mining & Smelting Co. , Ltd. , increased to satisfy the wartime demand . This subsequently increased the pollution of the Jinzū River and its tributaries . The river was used mainly for irrigation of rice fields , but also for drinking water , washing , fishing , and other uses by downstream populations . </P>
itai-itai disease was a form of poisoning associated with ingestion of
cadmium