Japanese Employee at U.S. Base Seeks Asbestos Compensation

December 18, 2006 - The Kyodo News reports that the family of a now-deceased Japanese employee of the U.S. forces in Okinawa will seek 30 million yen in damages from the Japanese government for his death from lung cancer which they say was caused by exposure to asbestos while he was employed at the base. 

According to the article, a 1962 Japanese domestic supplementary arrangement to the Japan-U.S. Status of Forces Agreement allows citizens of Japan to seek damages from the Japanese government for suffering caused by U.S. forces' activities in Japan.  If the family’s claim against the government is turned down, they will file a damages suit with a district court, the article explains.

This is the first of such claims in the Okinawa Prefecture, but similar suits have been filed in Kanagawa Prefecture, which is home to two major U.S. Navy bases -- Atsugi Air Station and Yokosuka Naval Base.

The employee, who is currently unidentified, worked as a mechanic at the Okinawa base from 1952 until 1996.  The suit claims that he was exposed to asbestos from 1964 until his retirement.  He died of lung cancer in 2001.