Ten district courts across the nation are handling lawsuits filed by 420 hepatitis B sufferers and bereaved family members who accuse the state of failing to take necessary steps to avert the risk of hepatitis B virus infection from shared needles during mass vaccinations.
In hearings May 14 and May 17 before the Sapporo and Fukuoka District Courts, respectively, the government offered to start talks to settle the lawsuit.
It is estimated that up to 1.4 million people are infected with the hepatitis B virus and that shared needles during mass vaccinations are responsible for the infection of more than 100,000 of them. Some people have developed such diseases as cirrhosis and liver cancer. Those people who became infected through no fault of their own deserve relief. But settlement talks are unlikely to proceed smoothly.