The Tokyo High Court ruled Thursday that a 22-year-old man developed chemical sensitivity syndrome from using an electric heater and ordered major retailer Ito-Yokado Co., which sold the appliance, to pay about 5.5 million yen in damages.
The ruling reverses the Tokyo District Court's March 2005 denial that a causal link existed between use of the heater and the syndrome the Tokyo university student developed in 2001.
"As Ito-Yokado says on a daily basis that it tries to guarantee the safety of its products, the company had a duty to inspect and confirm the hazardousness" of the heater, presiding Judge Masateru Yokoyama said.