Japan Press Weekly

Tweet

2014 June 25 - July 1 [LABOR]

Court condemns mine operators for putting workers at health risks

The Gifu District Court on June 27 condemned the operators of a mine in Gifu for neglecting to take measures to prevent health damages to their miners and ordered that the companies pay a total of 340 million yen in compensation for damages.

The plaintiffs are ex-mineworkers of the Kamioka Mine and bereaved families. They filed a lawsuit with the local court in 2009 arguing that they developed pneumoconiosis (black lung disease), a disease caused by inhalation of mine dust, after working at the mine. They demanded an apology and compensation for their damages from the mine operators, the Mitsui Mining and Smelting Co. Ltd and the Kamioka Mining and Smelting Co. Ltd.

The court ruling severely criticizes the irresponsible management of the two companies by stating that they failed to fulfill their responsibility to take measures to ensure workers’ safety.

The judgment acknowledges that 28 of the 32 plaintiffs suffered from lung diseases caused by the exposure to stone dust in the mine. However, it states that 19 of the 28 do not have the black lung disease and thus reduces the amount of compensation for them. The court rejected four plaintiffs’ claims due to the statute of limitation.

In a meeting after the ruling, Mizumoto Akiharu, who heads the plaintiffs’ group, said, “I worked very hard at the mine for 31 years for the sake of my company. During the court struggle, we tried to prove how bad the working environment was and how harsh the working conditions were in the mine.” While welcoming the court recognition that the companies’ safety measures were insufficient, he stressed that all the plaintiffs should be awarded full compensation.

Kawai Yoshifusa, head of the lawyers’ group for the plaintiffs, said they will appeal to a higher court.