The Asia Arsenic Network (AAN) is a citizens' association established in Miyazaki City on the Kyushu Island southwestern part of Japan in April 1994. AAN traces its origins to the support of victims of chronic arsenic poisoning near the old Toroku mine in Miyazaki Prefecture. It was a struggle that continued from 1975, when the victims first filed a lawsuit, to its eventual reconciliation in the Supreme Court in 1990. In that time, the movement acquired momentum and spirit. It accommodated a variety of personalities and improved knowledge and understanding of the problem of arsenic contamination. The energy and expertise built up over those years were then challenged into the formal foundation of the AAN, which aims to use its experience and skills to provide a positive and meaningful response to arsenic contamination in Asia .