People suffering from asbestos-linked diseases and those who lost relatives to such illnesses began filing applications Monday for government financial aid prior to the coming into force next week of a relief law for victims.

The applications were submitted to labor standards inspection offices and other governmental entities nationwide.

The law was passed in the aftermath of revelations starting last June that many workers at a factory in Amagasaki, Hyogo Prefecture, had died of asbestos-linked diseases, and that nearby residents, too, had health problems apparently caused by the material. Such woes were said to be just the tip of the iceberg.