TOKYO: Hundreds of people across Japan will sue the central government on Thursday (Dec 18) to seek damages for its “unconstitutional” inaction on climate change, the country’s first such litigation.
The landmark lawsuit criticises Japan’s “grossly inadequate” fight against the climate crisis, saying it jeopardises the health and livelihoods of the approximately 450 plaintiffs.
Plaintiff Kiichi Akiyama, a construction worker, told AFP that relentless heat forced his team to work slower, causing “huge losses” to his business.
There have also been cases where “people collapse out in the field, or have dropped dead after they return home”, the 57-year-old said.
In the past, five climate-related lawsuits have been filed with Japanese courts, including against coal-fired power plants, said Kyoto University assistant professor Masako Ichihara, who has followed climate lawsuits in the country.
But Ichihara – as well as lawyers working on the suit – say this is the first compensation claim against the state over climate change.
“The defendant’s climate change measures are grossly inadequate, and as a result, the plaintiffs’ rights to a peaceful life and to the enjoyment of a stable climate are being violated,” said the complaint summary, which was obtained by AFP ahead of the filing.
This year, Japan sweltered through its hottest summer since records began in 1898, and the plaintiffs argue such heatwaves cause economic losses, ruin crops and put many at risk of crippling heatstroke.
Akiyama, who frequently works outside in the searing heat, said it now takes his team triple the estimated time to finish their projects.
“I can barely dig with a shovel for 10 minutes without sitting down to rest,” he added.
“We wouldn’t be in this terrible situation if the government had taken more initiative in implementing policies.”
https://www.channelnewsasia.com/east-asia/japan-faces-lawsuit-unconstitutional-climate-inaction-crisis-heat-5625326
