85% of local gov'ts keep no tabs on asbestos victims

Some 85% of 151 surveyed local governments including Japan's 47 prefectures do not keep taps on the conditions of people who have developed mesothelial tumors due to asbestos exposure, a parliamentary research office said in a survey report Thursday. Of the 151 local governments, 76% were found to have not been exchanging information about the victims with labor standards inspection offices, which recognize situations of sufferers of work-related illnesses caused by asbestos.