Five former Japanese workers at a U.S. naval base in Kanagawa Prefecture and the next of kin of six others filed a suit against the state Monday, demanding compensation for lung problems contracted due to insufficient workplace health safety measures.
The five former employees, aged between 75 and 85, and 10 relatives of six others who have died, are demanding a combined 230 million yen in damages in the suit filed with the Yokosuka branch of the Yokohama District Court.
The plaintiffs claimed they and the deceased developed pneumoconiosis from inhaling large amounts of asbestos dust while working on ship-building and repairs as well as sheet metal work from the immediate postwar period up to the 1980s.
The third such lawsuit, those involved are claiming the central government, in its capacity as employer, failed to ensure measures were taken at the base to counter the negative effects of asbestos on health until around 1980.