Japanese court expected to rule Tuesday in pollution plaintiffs` favor
(EIN) - TOKYO, Japan | Oct 26, 2002 - 11:12 AM PT
The Tokyo District Court are likely to hand down a ruling Tuesday that will have a significant impact on the central government`s compensation of air pollution victims.
Asthmatics who claim to suffer from the disease as a result of exposure to vehicle exhaust fumes filed a lawsuit seeking compensation from the central and metropolitan governments, automakers and the Metropolitan Expressway Public Corporation, which manages roads.
In the suit, they claimed automakers are responsible for air pollution in Tokyo, the most polluted city in the nation.
In addition to asthma sufferers, the plaintiffs included patients who are not eligible for the government compensation following a change in the relevant law in 1987. Such patients--who failed to register before the law revision, or became ill after the change and are not endorsed by the government--joined the plaintiffs in the lawsuit for the first time.
The ruling may also give a moral boost to Tokyo Gov. Shintaro Ishihara`s attempt to ban diesel cars in Tokyo.
In July, the plaintiffs and their lawyers held a rally in Bunkyo Ward, Tokyo, to confirm their action plan to seek an admission of responsibility from automakers for the city`s poor air quality and proceed with the lawsuit until a ruling to establish a permanent compensation system is handed down.
Rulings on three suits in Nishiyodogawa, Osaka, three in Kawasaki, one in Amagasaki, Hyogo Prefecture, and one case in southern Nagoya were all in favor of the plaintiffs, who then reached out-of-court settlements with the defendants.
The lawsuit filed by residents in Tokyo was the final air pollution suit.
Taking into account precedents established in the previous cases, the plaintiffs said their ultimate goal was to establish a new compensation system funded by the automakers.
They also decided that even if they win the case against the governments and the expressway corporation, they will not reach a settlement with the automakers unless the automakers were also held accountable.
The plaintiffs, who include those suffering from chronic bronchitis as well as asthmatics, initially filed the lawsuit in 1996.
A total of 515 residents in four pollution suits demanded a total of about 12 billion yen in compensation.
The ruling to be handed down on Tuesday covers the 99 plaintiffs who initially filed the suit.
Plaintiffs who filed pollution suits sought to hold the central government, the expressway corporation and automakers accountable for hybrid pollution caused by vehicle exhaust and industrial soot and smoke.
In previous cases, the plaintiffs` claims were mostly recognized by district courts, and resulted in a governmental pledge to improve the environment along roads and an agreement from automakers to pay compensation.
Rulings are becoming increasingly severe for the defendants.
The ruling handed down in January 2001 on the Amagasaki case upheld a request that the central government reduce pollutant emissions.
The ruling referred to a similar ruling in a case in southern Nagoya.
Because the plaintiffs in Tokyo do not live in an industrial district, they focused their suit on vehicle exhaust fumes, claiming that even though automakers knew in the 1960s that such fumes caused air pollution, they continued to produce a large number of cars without modifying exhaust emissions and sold them in cities that were already jammed with cars.
Seven automakers, including Toyota Motor Corp. and Nissan Motor Co., said they cannot bear responsibility for the air pollution in Tokyo because their cars were made in accordance with government regulations and that they had no control over traffic congestion in the city.
In addition to automakers` responsibility, attention also focused on compensation for plaintiffs who are ineligible for government compensation in the hope such would be approved by the Tokyo District Court.
A ruling in favor of such patients will inevitably lead to a review of the current compensation system.
The central government enacted the pollution-related health damage compensation law in 1973 when ill health resulting from pollution was prevalent.
Using donations from factories and part of the vehicle weight tax, the government established a fund to meet medical bills and compensate sufferers of pollution-related diseases in endorsed areas such as Tokyo and Osaka.
However, the government revised the law in 1987 on the ground that air pollution caused by factories has decreased since 1980.
Although the government continues to compensate endorsed patients, it has not recognized any new patients since 1987.
Patients who did not apply for the status prior to the law revision or became sick after the government stopped endorsing new patients are "ineligible patients."
Only recognized patients have filed pollution suits previously. However, in the current case at the Tokyo District Court, 188 ineligible patients also joined the suit.
Yomiuri Shimbun, Daily Yomiuri
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