Tokyo air pollution suit officially ends

   A damage suit over air pollution in Tokyo filed by 633 asthma patients against 7 automakers, the Metropolitan Expressway Company, the Tokyo Metropolitan Government, and the state endded in a court-mediated settlement on August 8. The seven automakers agreed to pay 1.2 billion yen in settlement money to the plaintiffs and to establish a 3.3 billion yen fund to subsidize a medical program for the patients.

   Japanese Communist Party Policy Commission Chair Koike Akira on the same day published the following statement:

   “Today, the Tokyo air pollution suit officially ended with the state, the Tokyo Metropolitan Government, Metropolitan Expressway Co., and the 7 automakers accepting a mediation by the Tokyo High and District courts in an out-of-the-court settlement. We commend all plaintiffs, lawyers, and supporters for tenaciously struggling in this court battle for more than 11 years.

   In the recommendation, the courts made clear that automobile emissions are a cause of air pollution and held automakers responsible for it, as well as the state, the Tokyo Metropolitan Government, and Metropolitan Expressway Co.

   Based on this understanding, it was agreed that polluters will pay for the establishment of a medical subsidy program for patients who have not been certified as having diseases caused by air pollution in Tokyo. This is an epoch-making decision.

   It is also important that the state and the Tokyo Metropolitan Government agreed to implement comprehensive anti-pollution measures, including an assessment of the health impact of diesel exhaust particles from automobile emissions, which have been excluded from controls even though it has been pointed out that they are a cause of lung cancer and asthma.

   It is noteworthy that the automakers were held responsible as well as the state, the Tokyo metropolitan Government and the Metropolitan Expressway Co. This makes the automakers’ payment of settlement money not just a monetary gift but acceptance of responsibility for the pollution.

   The JCP demands that the state, the local government, the Metropolitan Expressway Co., and the automakers sincerely implement the agreement, make efforts to relieve air pollution victims across the country as well as in Tokyo, and drastically reduce air pollution caused by automobile emissions.

- Akahata, August 9, 2007