Health minister Chikara Sakaguchi said Thursday the government will try to reach a quick settlement in two damages suits over Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease contracted from transplants of infected dura mater imported from Germany.
"I decided to accept the opinion of the (Tokyo and Otsu) district courts, which said the government should seek a settlement regardless of its legal responsibility," Sakaguchi told a news conference after a Cabinet meeting.
His remark is believed to indicate the government is considering an offer of relief measures, including financial assistance to all plaintiffs, although the government is being held responsible for cases only after 1987.