Japanese Firm Reports More Asbestos Deaths

May 23, 2006 - Recent reports of 33 more asbestos-related deaths at Osaka, Japan’s Kubota Corporation bring the total deaths related to this deadly material to 109. The company, which manufactures machinery, continues to react with dismay as the death toll steadily rises.

Last year, Kubota reported that 76 of its employees had died of mesothelioma or other asbestos-related diseases between 1978 and 2004.  The only known cause for mesothelioma – which is a cancer that affects the chest cavity and lining of the lung – is exposure to asbestos and inhalation of airborne asbestos fibers.  This number, reports several Osaka-area newspapers, does not include those who live in the neighborhoods where the machinery manufacturer is located who have been stricken with asbestos-caused diseases as well.

Newspapers note that the death toll increased as media reports surfaced and former employees became aware of the connection between Kubota and their diseases.   Of the 33 newly confirmed cases, 14 died of mesothelioma and 30 had worked at the Kanzaki (Osaka) plant, according to Kubota officials. The three others worked at the company's Odawara plant in Kanagawa Prefecture.

Officials also reported that the total number of victims affected by Kubota's past asbestos use, including patients now undergoing medical treatment, has reached 132.

The company has pledged to pay up to 46 million yen ($409,053), or a total of about 3.217 billion yen, to each of 88 residents who lived near any Kubota plant and developed asbestos-related cancer.   In the cases of those who’ve already died, payments will be made to their surviving family members.