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Prime Minister Meets with Plaintiffs in Lawsuits for the Elimination of Pneumoconiosis Associated with Nationwide Tunnel Construction
Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, along with Mr. Hakuo Yanagisawa, the Minister of Health, Labour and Welfare, and other officials, met with the representatives of plaintiffs in lawsuits for the elimination of pneumoconiosis associated with nationwide tunnel construction. Prime Minister Abe offered his words of sympathy to the patients with the disease and his condolences to members of the bereaved families. The ex-workers who had contracted pneumoconiosis as a result of working on the government-ordered road and railway tunnel construction and the members of bereaved families had filed group lawsuits nationwide to claim damages from the government. The plaintiffs have recently agreed on a policy to settle the case by withdrawing their claim, on the condition that the government strengthen its measures to prevent pneumoconiosis. At the meeting, Prime Minister Abe said, "I would like to express my heartfelt sympathy to those who contracted the disease and the members of their families. I am determined to steadfastly promote measures to prevent pneumoconiosis so that our country will never repeat this sort of situation again in the future."
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