Yesterday, the largest asbestos-litigation suit even filed in Japan began in a Tokyo courtroom. According to an article in The Japan Times, the case began with testimony be construction workers and relatives of deceased workers who took the stand to describe years of health problems that could have been prevented had they been protected from exposure to asbestos.

The suit, forged by 178 plaintiffs, requests a combined total of ¥6.6 billion in compensation from 46 construction-materials manufacturers and the government, accusing them of failing to take appropriate measures to protect individuals from the hazards of asbestos. Partial use of asbestos was allowed in Japan until 2006.

“Many of my colleagues are suffering from asbestosis, lung cancer and mesothelioma,” Kazuo Miyajima, a former construction worker, told the jury. He was diagnosed with lung cancer five years ago. The 76-year-old Miyajima also told those present that construction workers were “treated unjustly” and were considered “unworthy of proper care.”

Most of the plaintiffs are/were carpenters and plasterers from Tokyo, Chiba, and Saitama prefectures. At this time, 84 of the plaintiffs involved in the suit have already passed away due to asbestos exposure and are being represented at the trial by family members.

“The [other] plaintiffs do not have much time left,” Miyajima told the judge, asking him to please act swiftly to bring the case to an end so that those individuals may be compensated before they pass away.

Hatsue Segawa, whose husband died of mesothelioma in 1998, spoke to the court of the unbearable pain her late husband suffered and of the fact that he often “begged for death” while being treated for this aggressive form of cancer.

The plaintiffs are seeking compensation of ¥38.5 million each in addition to enhancement of financial support for victims as well as better medical assistance, according to the article.

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