Arab News Japan

TOKYO: About 800 asbestos victims and their supporters gathered in Tokyo on Wednesday to discuss the process of compensating victims of construction workers harmed by asbestos.

A month after the Japanese state and a number of construction companies were ordered to apologize and compensate plaintiffs, lawyers and unions defending construction workers had a meeting with Norihisa Tamura, Minister of Labor, Health and Welfare.

The lawyers argued for swift compensation and indemnification solutions, not only by companies but also by the state, and to allow a state-run and victim-run fund to fairly compensate the victims.

Unions and lawyers have raised the possibility that compensation could be collected by the heirs of the deceased who died of asbestos-related illnesses.

Both patients and their lawyers showed their joy that the court had ruled in their favor, but they regretted that the plaintiffs who died of illness during the 13 years of legal proceedings could not benefit from the decision.

The Japanese state was ordered to compensate the victims on the basis of a judgment which found it guilty of failing to enforce labor and employee welfare legislation.

The collective of lawyers from unions and victims estimate that 31,000 victims can benefit from this compensation.