Minamata in Japan and Bhopal in India. Two of the worst cases of chemical disaster to have hit the world this century. Years later, the nightmares continue for their victims and survivors. Two stories of compensation delayed, denied or only partially fulfilled. Why is the state of affairs so dismal even in a nation like Japan which prides itself on its progress? Is it because the whole exercise of granting compensation has its bottlenecks? Or are we, as Asians, plain lax?