The Tokyo District Court has rejected a damage suit filed against Japan Tobacco Inc. and the national government by seven former smokers who said they developed cancer and other health troubles from long years of smoking. The suit, filed by victims of lung cancer, cancer of the larynx and emphysema, charged that JT failed to inform consumers of the health risks of smoking and the state failed to take effective measures to restrict smoking. The suit, which also demanded damages and a restrictions on cigarette sales, was the most important among 17 tobacco-related damage suits filed in Japan since 1980.

JT, owned 66.74 percent by the Finance Ministry, is a de facto national enterprise. There was a widespread perception among the plaintiffs and their grass-roots supporters that it would be difficult to win the suit, but I was shocked by the callous ruling, which I believe was one of the worst court judgments in Japanese legal history.

Yoshiro Isayama, chief counsel for the plaintiffs, said it was a "political ruling."