The Kumamoto District Court ordered the state Thursday to pay a combined 260 million yen in compensation to workers who contracted pneumoconiosis on tunnel construction projects mainly ordered by the state, and to relatives of deceased workers.

The court ruled that the state is responsible for the disease, saying it was "extremely irrational" that the government did not exert authority to take preventive action.

The ruling follows one delivered July 7 by the Tokyo District Court, which ordered the government to pay 69.3 million yen in compensation to 49 victims of pneumoconiosis from 19 prefectures.

In the Kumamoto case, 156 plaintiffs from Kyushu's seven prefectures, Okinawa and Yamaguchi Prefecture, sought 3.3 million yen each in compensation, saying the state breached its obligation to ensure safety.