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The Supreme Court has ruled for the first time ever that compensation for health issues related to asbestos poisoning is the responsibility of the Japanese government
In the landmark ruling, the top court ruled that the state is liable for all damages related to asbestos-related health issues incurred by construction workers who were not provided with ample ventilation while on the job.
The ruling follows in the wake of a class action lawsuit filed by two parties consisting of 89 former construction workers and plant employees who worked with asbestos and suffered from lung cancer and other serious health issues after inhaling asbestos particles, TBS reported.
On Thursday, the Supreme Court ruled that due to the state's negligence in mandating the establishment of proper ventilation systems and providing proper protective gear for the employees, the central government must pay approximately 330 million yen in damages to former employees and their families.
The ruling is expected to have a great effect on similar class action lawsuits pending.
© Japan Today
11 Comments
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SenseNotSoCommon
Before anyone gets excited, divide that by 89.
IparryU
I lost my grandpa due to asbestos and my grandma got nothing at all from the govt. This was back in the early 90's and there wasn't that much proof that asbestos had some pretty bad long term affects for construction workers. My old man and uncles also has some minor issues... not much we can do honestly.
Magnus Roe
Good good. People still don't usually wear masks when tearing town old buildings though. But god forbid someone forgets a helmet while driving a mini van.
harvey pekar
Not enough money when it's broken down.
CrazyJoe
Yokosuka's ship repair facility is the U.S. Navy's largest outside the United States. During the Korean and Vietnam wars, the shipyard hired thousands of Japanese workers to overhaul warships and cargo vessels coming in to refuel, re-arm and get needed repairs. Photos from the time show shipyard workers swarming like ants over the huge ships. At the time, virtually all Navy ships were powered by boilers, with fireboxes fuming water into super heated steam, which drove the propeller shafts. From there, the steam was routed throughout the ship in thousands of feet of artery-like steam lines, to heat laundry water, for example, or to power the ship's freshwater equipment. Over time, the super heated steam ate through the pipes, which had to be replaced. To keep the ship relatively cool, virtually all those steam lines were wrapped or encased in asbestos insulation. Asbestos - a soft greenish mineral in its natural state can cut delicate lung tissue when inhaled as dust. But nobody knew that in the 1950's and 1960's, when Yokosuka workers routinely tore off the insulation, getting covered in a snowy dust of asbestos Twelve former Japanese employees filed a lawsuit in the 90's and they all now receive about 30,000 US dollars a year as a medical pension.
Cricky
It's been globally known that asbestos is a poisonous substance for decades. As usual Japan is decades behind. Now that people are dying the wheels are creeping into motion.
warispeace
So why are the companies not on the hook for this, yet the taxpayers are? As usual, the externality costs are born by society and not by private interests.