The Nagoya District Court on Monday ordered the central government to keep emissions of air pollutants within an environmentally acceptable limit in areas along a national highway here.
 |
| Plaintiffs and supporters in an 11-year court battle over air pollution in Nagoya smile after the state and local firms are ordered to compensate local residents. |
Recognizing the causal relationship between respiratory diseases and so-called suspended particulate matters, the court also ordered the government to pay 18 million yen and 10 companies to pay a combined 289 million yen in compensation to Nagoya residents whose health was damaged by air pollution from vehicle exhaust and industrial plant emissions.
The plaintiffs in the suit, filed in March 1989, were among 145 people living in southern Nagoya officially recognized as suffering from diseases caused by air pollution or the next of kin of deceased victims.
They originally sought around 4.3 billion yen in damages from the state and the 10 companies.