常時英心:言葉の森から 1.0

約10年間,はてなダイアリーで英語表現の落穂拾いを行ってきました。現在はAmeba Blogに2.0を開設し,継続中です。こちらはしばらくアーカイブとして維持します。

technicality

最近はむしゃくしゃするような判決が続いていると感じています。これもそのひとつ。このカネミ事件では報道関係の通訳をしたことがあるので、なおさらです。technicalityは「専門的手続き、法的手続き」と訳されますが、「こじつけ」というpragamaticな意味もあります。(UG)

Japanese court throws out lawsuit over 1968 poisoning incident based on technicality

On Thursday, the Fukuoka District Court threw out a 605 million yen (approx. $6.4 million) damages lawsuit against cooking oil manufacturer Kanemi Soko K.K. over a massive incident of food poisoning. Their reasoning? That because the incident took place in 1968, the lawsuit was against the Civil Code’s statute of limitations that limits damages to within 20 years of the symptoms first appearing.

Believed to be Japan’s largest case of food poisoning, the 1968 incident resulted in roughly 14,000 victims poisoned by rice bran cooking oil that was tainted with the toxic chemicals polychlorinated biphenyls and dioxin. Spread across western Japan, the victims, between the ages of 51 and 91, suffered from headaches, skin disorders, and deformities, with a number still struggling with symptoms. Unfortunately they weren’t recognized as victims of food poisoning until 2004, when the government officially recognized PCB and dioxin levels in the blood as criteria, meaning those affected by the oil had to pay their own medical bills. The 59 victims and relatives of victims first filed their lawsuit in 2008.

The Kanemi Soko company argued that since more than 20 years had passed since the poisoning, they could not be held responsible for damages. The plaintiffs countered by saying that it had been impossible to sue before 2004 as that’s when they were officially recognized as food-poisoning patients, and therefore the exclusion period should be based on when the legal recognition was made. A settlement offer was negotiated in January of this year, with the court urging the oil company to pay 300,000 yen ($3,150) per plaintiff for their medical costs, along with another 5 million yen ($52,560) per person as settlement, but only after the company went bankrupt. The offer was rejected, and in light of the case dismissal, the victims have already said they plan to file an appeal.

http://japandailypress.com/japanese-court-throws-out-lawsuit-over-1968-poisoning-incident-based-on-technicality-2225631