Overview

• On August 7, the Tokyo High Court secured ¥52.3 billion in reconciliation from seven major building-material manufacturers to compensate about 400 former construction workers and bereaved family members.
• The court applied a 10% market-share threshold to allocate liability, compelling firms above that share to contribute and exempting smaller suppliers who expressed only condolences.
• On August 8, the Osaka High Court settled separate appeals by 12 manufacturers, who agreed to pay approximately ¥12.5 billion to 67 plaintiffs in the second and third clusters of construction asbestos lawsuits.
• These agreements mark the largest collective resolutions in Japan’s construction asbestos litigation, following a 2021 Supreme Court remand that endorsed joint manufacturer liability without specifying quantitative thresholds.
• Regional courts in Saitama and elsewhere are preparing to adopt the same market-share framework, potentially unlocking compensation for more than 1,000 remaining plaintiffs nationwide.