About 4,000 people have applied for financial relief since March 20 under new legislation to support victims of asbestos-related diseases and their families, officials say. Seventy percent of claims were lodged by people who live near plants that produced or used asbestos. So far, 320 people have been recognized as eligible to receive medical care allowances or condolence money for deceased relatives.

Enacted on Feb. 3, the relief law stipulates treatment allowances for victims of mesothelioma and asbestos-caused lung cancer as well as condolence payments for families of deceased victims.

It was formulated in response to revelations last year of widespread asbestos-related health problems following an admission by machinery maker Kubota Corp. that asbestos used in its plants had led to health problems in neighboring communities. The new law targets those who are not covered by workers' accident compensation insurance. Recognized victims are eligible to receive a monthly allowance of 103,870 yen in addition to medical costs. Relatives of deceased victims qualify for a one-off condolence payment of about 3 million yen.

The legislation also offers relief to bereaved families of workers who died more than five years ago of mesothelioma or lung cancer linked to the use of asbestos in their workplace. While relief to such victims is provided for under the workers' insurance, the framework carries a five-year statute of limitations.

Officials said 2,710 resident applications had been filed as of Thursday. Of them, 182 bereaved families and 27 patients were recognized. Of those 209 cases, 207 involved mesothelioma, while the remaining two victims had developed lung cancer. By the end of May, 1,257 bereaved families had applied for the compensation on grounds the statute of limitations for workers had expired. A total of 111 were recognized. Recognized victims came from 36 prefectures. Tokyo had the most cases with 30, followed by 22 in Hyogo Prefecture and 21 each in Osaka and Kanagawa prefectures.

Source: The Asahi Shimbun