The Supreme Court ruling finalized the government's first defeat in a "black lung" compensation case, and could affect another case pending at the Sapporo High Court.

The No. 3 petty bench of the Supreme Court turned down appeals by the government and Tokyo-based Nittetsu Mining Co. against the Fukuoka High Court ruling that ordered them to pay a total ¥560 million in damages to 200 plaintiffs for the suffering endured by former miners at a coal mine in the prefecture's Chikuho region.

The government was ordered to pay some ¥390 million of the total damages. The plaintiffs include relatives of deceased coal miners as well as survivors.

About 80 percent of the original plaintiffs -- 144 people -- died in the course of the protracted legal battle, the plaintiffs' group said.

The Japan Times Weekly: May 8, 2004
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