[Intl-tobacco] Japan: court awards damages for passive smoking for 1st time

[Robert Weissman]

Japanese court awards damages for passive smoking for 1st time
Kyodo News
 July 12, 2004

 The Tokyo District Court on Monday awarded 50,000 yen in damages to a
 municipal employee over passive smoking he suffered at his workplace,
 marking the first such ruling in Japan.

 The court said the government of Edogawa Ward, one of the 23 wards that form
 the central Tokyo metropolis, failed to take sufficient safety precautions
 for the man, who had demanded around 300,000 yen in damages.

 Presiding Judge Akio Doi said, 'The ward government which oversees
 workplace facilities has an obligation to see to it that protection is
 provided for the life and health of the plaintiff from passive smoking.'

 In January 1996, the man presented the office with a medical diagnosis
 saying he would suffer deterioration in health if he remained in the same
 work environment. He was transferred three months later to another office
 with a designated smoking area, the ruling said.

 'Leaving him unattended (for three months) is a violation of the (municipal
 government's) obligation to take safety precautions,' the judge said.

 The man got the job with the Edogawa municipal government in April 1995,
 where smoking is permitted, according to the ruling. The man complained of
 respiratory problems and pains in the neck and shoulders, saying it was due
 to passive smoking, it said.

 The man requested through his supervisor that measures be taken to designate
 smoking areas. The ward government responded by installing ventilators at
 the workplace, but failed to take measures such as creating a smoking area
 or relocating his desk, the ruling said.
Robert Weissman