The death toll from diseases linked to asbestos inhalation has risen by 19 to at least 397 at 33 companies that handled the fibrous mineral, which is used in building materials but is known to cause cancer and other diseases after years of incubation.
The 19 were once employees of JFE Engineering Corp., Nippon Express Co., Mazda Motor Corp. and seven other firms that disclosed information on the deaths Tuesday.
JFE Engineering said seven former workers at its three shipyards, in Kanagawa, Shizuoka and Mie prefectures, died between June 1989 and last month.
Nippon Express said three of its former employees who used to handle deliveries of asbestos products died of mesothelioma from June 2000 to last April.
Hiroshima Prefecture-based Mazda, for its part, said an employee who assembled three-wheeled bikes and other products for some nine years died of an asbestos-related disease in 1991, while another employee who worked at the same factory died in 1988.
The seven other firms, including Kawasaki Heavy Industries, Tokyo Gas Co., East Japan Railway Co. and Hitachi Chemical Co., reported one death each.