Ex representitive of the second hand smoke problems in offices network in Japan

Masahiro Kawamura (ex-representiative)

Employee of Edogawa city ,Tkokyo,Japan He majored in laws at Kyoto university, then studied mathmatics and phisics by himself.and also try to major technology but for economic reasons, he was obliged to left university. So he has leagal and scientific knowledge. He sued for health damages caused by second-hand smoke in office of Edogawa city.hall After he had sued, he was change to another section where are full of smoke. So he have brought another suit for non-smoking envioronment in 1999. No matter how the Edogawa city mayor is aginst him, No matter how he is discriminated in wages and promotion and so on, he never stops fighting. He is now fighting in Tokyo district court without lawyer. Because lawyers avoided him, worrying that tabacco issues may influence their human-relationship in lawyers. Many of lawyers smokes in Japan. His fight is lonely way, but he never gives up. In litigationl, Edogawa city admited that they connection with tabacco industries. And Edogawa city insisted that the tabacco industries' idea that second-hand smoke was harmless was right. He also took another leagal measure（Ｓｏｃｈｉｙｏｋｙｕ） to against Edogawa city for smoke-free environments in government office buildings of Edogawa-city on Jul 11th ,2003. Mayor Masami Tada is completely against Kawamura's opinion. He insists that letting people smoke is inportant service of government. He orderd to make newly smoking areas in already 100% smoke-free government offrice buildings, using a large amount of taxes. Ｈｅ won a lawasuit aginst Edogawa city on secxond-hand smoke on Sep 12th ,2004. This is the the first time ruling that an employer must pay compensation to an office worker for health problems stemming from second-hand smoke at the workplace in Jpapan. This rulling was very influential in Japan and still is. Surprizingly , this lawsuie was carried by himeself alone. At the time except a few, no one would have helped him. So this is a case, onely one chaged the society. From Apil 1st,2005 ,he was ordered to trasfer from non-smoking workplace to smoking workplace. He was daiganosed as passive smoke disease after that He will bring suit against this to fight aginst Mayor as retaliation.. Kawamura speaks English , Chinese and others.. He is a certified interpretere in English and Chinese.

(In English and Chinese only)



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