The Diet's enactment by unanimous vote of a bill for "blanket" government relief for people who were infected with hepatitis C via tainted blood products is a victory for the victims and their tenacious lawyers. Credit also should go to Prime Minister Yasuo Fukuda, who decided to solve the problem through legislative action.
It is remarkable that in the law's preamble, the government admits its responsibility for failing to prevent the "huge harm" from spreading. But the preamble's mention of the original occurrence of this harm can be taken two ways — either to only mention that the harm occurred or to make clear the government's responsibility for the harm.
Mr. Fukuda extended a deep apology to the victims and bereaved families. Reassuringly, he promised to review the drug-related administration from the viewpoint of preventing suffering caused by tainted medical products and to do his best to prevent such occurrences.