Thirty-four employees of machinery manufacturer Kubota Corp. (Japan) were added to a list of workers who died of asbestos-related illnesses, bringing the total of such victims to 109, according to a survey by the company made in fiscal 2005.


The addition comes as more cases have come to the Osaka-based company's attention following extensive media coverage last year of asbestos-related deaths at the company.


Previous surveys, including that for fiscal 2004, found 75 people had died. Most of the additional 34 in the new survey were victims of diseases associated with asbestos exposure, such as mesothelioma and lung cancer. Twenty-two of the 34 died within five years of the study, but 12 died more than five years ago, exceeding the statute of limitations and making their families ineligible for workers compensation.


Thirty of the employees are believed to have been exposed to asbestos at the company's former Kanzaki factory in Amagasaki, Hyogo Prefecture. Of the other four, one was exposed at another former factory in the city and three at the company's Odawara factory in Kanagawa Prefecture.


A spokesman said Kubota had made every effort to disclose information about the problem, but that in the past year, more bereaved families and former employees had contacted the company with new information. In addition, 111 people who lived in the vicinity of the former Kanzaki factory have claimed they are suffering from asbestos-related illnesses and demanded compensation.


Source: The Daily Yomiuri