The government and nearly 1,000 former tunnel workers who contracted lung diseases while working on state-ordered construction projects will probably agree to settle this month, ending a series of lawsuits demanding 3.2 billion yen in damages from the government, sources said Wednesday.
The government, which is losing the legal battle, is likely to agree to draft tougher measures to prevent pneumoconiosis, a disease caused by breathing in excessive dust that hardens and eventually kills cells in the lungs.
The measures would include mandatory assessment of dust density at tunnel construction sites and shorter working hours, government sources said.