State told to pay for asbestos death

YOKOSUKA, Kanagawa Prefecture--A district court branch here Monday ordered the central government to pay 76.84 million yen in compensation to the family of a naval base worker who died from an asbestos-related illness.

Hitoshi Taima, whose job was to help maintain refrigeration and air conditioning systems at the U.S. Yokosuka Naval Base from 1977, died of malignant mesothelioma in May 2007 at age 51.

Presiding Judge Haruhiko Sakae at the Yokosuka branch of the Yokohama District Court said the government, Taima's employer, had failed to take anti-asbestos measures, despite its awareness of the health threat posed by asbestos particles.

The Yokosuka labor standards inspection office recognized his illness as work-related in August 2006.(IHT/Asahi: July 7,2009)