According to a formal government announcement Friday, talks to settle lawsuits at the Sapporo District Court will begin quite soon. However, the government did not provide any details on the settlement for the suits filed by 62 people, claiming to have been infected with hepatitis B from group vaccinations during childhood.

The parties were asked to reach a settlement by the court in March.

The plaintiffs in their suit claimed the state failed to take adequate prevention measures to avoid infection from shared syringes.

The lawsuits nationwide, including the Sapporo suits have entered a new phase, with the state’s decision to go to the negotiation table.

With several key issues remaining to be resolved before final closure of the cases, observers predict negotiations will be difficult.

The government'’ willingness to enter court-mediated negotiations was announced by a state representative Friday morning oral hearing for the Sapporo suits.

The state on grounds of incomplete discussions refused to divulge specifics of its redress and compensation plan for those with chronic symptoms of hepatitis B, including the infected.

According to a lawyer for the plaintiffs, the government later said the plan would not be ready until early July.

In addition to vaccination, there are other ways of catching Hepatitis B infection, with the court proceedings focusing on:

· Proving the infected person was inoculated during a group vaccination as an infant.

· Proving the disease was not transmitted from the mother at birth.

The two parties arguments carried wide discrepancies, with the plaintiffs requesting compensation for a wider range of people.

The plaintiffs said they will demand 12 million yen to 40 million yen depending on the severity of the case.

According to defense counsel, if the drug-induced hepatitis C standard is applied in this case, it will take about 9.3 billion yen to compensate all 420 plaintiffs nationwide, who include bereaved family members.

Depending on the scope of the government relief package, it could be the largest compensation paid by the state for the suffering caused by infectious diseases, with as many as 1.4 million people believed to have been infected with the virus.

The first of the pending hepatitis B damages suits was filed with the Sapporo court in March 2008.

There are an estimated 70,000 cases of chronic hepatitis, cirrhosis and liver cancer caused by hepatitis B in Japan, however, the addition of hepatitis B infected individuals who have not yet developed, the estimated number is expected to be between 1.1 million and 1.4 million.