The Sapporo High Court ordered the government Friday to pay a combined 16.5 million yen to three people who said they contracted the hepatitis B virus in their childhood through then-mandatory vaccinations.
Presiding Judge Kenji Yamazaki said in handing down the ruling that it is reasonable to believe the inoculations caused their infections. The ruling overturned a lower court ruling dismissing the claim.
"The government naturally was able to predict the risk of such infections but failed to take preventive measures," he said.
Four male plaintiffs aged 20 to 52 who are residents of Sapporo and the family of a man who died in 2002 at age 37 had demanded a total of 57.5 million yen in redress. They said the inoculations must have caused their infections because they had never received blood transfusions and their families have no record of hepatitis.