Contractors in Japan are facing pressure to settle claims from about 1,300 former tunnel workers and the families of dead workers who are suffering from lung-related illnesses caused by tunnel construction.
Tokyo district court presiding judge Yoshinori Kawabe told the victims and the contractors: "You should settle the cases as soon as possible."
The judge said companies should pay Yen 22M ($198,000) to each of those whose relatives have died and those who cannot work due to illness.
Those who are not incapacitated but are affected by lung diseases should receive Yen 9M-14M.
Lawyers for the victims and families of the dead have agreed to the judge’s proposal, but the 186 construction companies who are facing the lawsuits have not decided whether to accept the plan. Some 150 sufferers have already died since the original lawsuits were filed in 1997.
Currently there are 23 outstanding legal cases in Japan from tunnel workers and families seeking compensation for diseases caused as a result of Japan’s massive rail and road tunnel construction programme in the 1960s and 70s.
The Japan Railway Construction Public Corporation has already settled some claims after it was sued in Sendai district court in 1997.
