A relative of an asbestos-linked fatality applies for state benefits at the Osaka branch of the Environmental Restoration and Conservation Agency on March 20.

The law was passed in the aftermath of revelations starting last June that many workers at a factory in Amagasaki, Hyogo Prefecture, had died of asbestos-linked diseases, and that nearby residents, too, had health problems apparently caused by the material.

Subsequent reports about asbestos-linked health problems prompted the government to prepare the legislation, under which the state will cover medical expenses and treatment fees for the sufferers of asbestos-linked diseases, including mesothelioma, an incurable kind of cancer, and some funeral costs.

The Japan Times Weekly: March 25, 2006
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