Photo/Illutration Asbestos ore (Asahi Shimbun file photo)

In his youth in the 1980s, author Kazumi Saeki worked in electrical rooms and boiler rooms of apartment complexes in Tokyo as an electrician.

Back then, asbestos was used everywhere as a highly fire-resistant building material.

Drilling holes into asbestos caused dust to fly all over the place. From continued inhalation of the dust, Saeki developed a lung condition that gave him coughing fits he couldn't control.

It was not until decades later that asbestos was determined to be the cause.

Based on his own experience, as well as on interviews with medical professionals and fellow patients, Saeki authored "Ishi no Hai: Boku no Asubesto Rirekisho" (Lungs of stone: My asbestos curriculum vitae).

The state did nothing about the health hazards asbestos posed, he asserted, saying, "I think I can say we were used as human guinea pigs."

The Supreme Court's ruling on May 17 represented a huge step toward righting the wrong done to victims of asbestos poisoning.

The top court ruled in favor of the plaintiffs--former construction workers who inhaled the fibrous silicate mineral--and the bereaved families of the deceased.

By doing so, it held the state and construction material makers responsible for failing to require workers to wear protective masks or alerting them to the risks that were already known at the time.

 This "crime of omission" went on for three decades from 1975.

Those were the years when economic growth was the nation's foremost priority and the health of workers was secondary.

The court's verdict came 13 years after the first lawsuits were filed--long enough for many plaintiffs to have died in the meantime.

This overly long period needs to be compensated for to the fullest extent.

The word "asbestos" derives from the ancient Greek for "unquenchable" or "inextinguishable."

As a tough and inexpensive material capable of withstanding fire and heat, it was used extensively during the years of Japan's rapid economic growth and remained unregulated for years.

As such, asbestos embodies a dark side of the Japanese economy.

--The Asahi Shimbun, May 19

* * *

Vox Populi, Vox Dei is a popular daily column that takes up a wide range of topics, including culture, arts and social trends and developments. Written by veteran Asahi Shimbun writers, the column provides useful perspectives on and insights into contemporary Japan and its culture.

Related News