The Fukuoka District Court on Tuesday ordered Mitsui Mining Co. and Mitsui Coal Mining Co. to pay 1.59 billion yen in damages to former miners and relatives of dead miners for injuries resulting from black lung disease.
The companies must pay the damages to 103 former workers and 43 relatives of dead miners, markedly fewer than the 257 plaintiffs who had demanded 4.7 billion yen in a series of suits dating back to August 1993.
The miners had worked at the Miike coal mine in Omuta, Fukuoka Prefecture, which closed in 1997. It was the largest coal mine in Japan.
The mine was operated by Mitsui Mining, Mitsui Coal Mining and Mitsui Construction Co., which has already reached an out-of-court settlement in the case.
"(The two companies) violated their obligation to ensure safety by neglecting to give their workers dust masks or install water sprinklers at the workplace to prevent them from contracting the disease," presiding Judge Kunikazu Oyama ruled.
The court also said the statute of limitations for the plaintiffs had not run out, as it takes effect starting from "the death of a worker," in reference to those who died of the disease after the lawsuit was filed, or their relatives, who participated in the lawsuit within 10 years following the death of a worker.
The plaintiffs accused the companies of taking inadequate measures to prevent the miners from contracting black lung. The companies have denied any responsibility.
The district court in January recommended that the three companies settle the case in a compromise.
Mitsui Construction accepted a proposal by the plaintiffs and agreed in May to pay 115 million yen to 20 plaintiffs, while the other two refused to settle.
Black lung, or anthracosis, is caused by inhaling coal dust.
