Posthumous benefits for asbestos ills in the works
The Liberal Democratic Party-New Komeito ruling bloc plans to revise the relief law for asbestos victims so that people confirmed to have died of asbestos-linked illnesses will be entitled to posthumous benefits, according to party lawmakers. A ruling coalition team will meet as early as Wednesday to discuss the matter. The move comes amid increasing criticism over cases in which the government does not provide relief because victims were found to have been suffering from asbestos-caused mesothelioma or lung cancer only after autopsies were performed.