Hepatitis B sufferers suing the government decided Saturday to accept a court-proposed settlement plan on condition the state apologizes and offers them blanket compensation, they said.
The move will help end a series of damages suits filed nationwide by hepatitis B patients and virus carriers believed infected by repeated use of needles during group vaccinations decades ago, as the government has already expressed its willingness to accept a proposal by the Sapporo District Court that it pay compensation.
"It was a tough decision, but we decided to accept the proposal to swiftly end this issue," the plaintiffs said in a statement issued after meeting in Tokyo.