Soldiers and civilians suffered similar health problems from working at toxic gas factories of the Imperial Japanese Army during the war and should receive equal government benefits, according to a Health and Welfare Ministry panel.

In a report released Thursday, the panel said student employees at the time experienced serious health problems, including skin diseases and deteriorating lung functions, the same as former soldiers and civilian employees of the army.

The panel interviewed former student workers about their working environment and inspected their medical charts and medical test results.

Under the current benefit system, veterans and civilian employees of the army receive more benefits than female volunteers and students mobilized at the time to work at factories in Hiroshima, Fukuoka and Kanagawa prefectures.

Based on the panel's report, the ministry plans to make adjustments in benefit payments in its budget request for fiscal 2001, ministry officials said.

The soldiers and civilian employees, who were members of a mutual benefit association, currently receive benefit payments from the Finance Ministry, while payments to the rest of the former factory workers are handled by the Health and Welfare Ministry.

Former student employees had demanded a revision in the benefit system, which offered more lucrative payments to servicemen and civilian employees of the army based on the determination that they took part in more dangerous tasks for longer periods of time.

As of the end of March, about 2,100 former soldiers and civilian army employees and some 2,700 other former civilian employees were receiving the benefits.