Japan's prime minister met and apologised on Tuesday to hepatitis patients at the centre of a high-profile scandal over tainted blood products as he tried to quell a row that risks further eroding his support ratings.
The meeting came after Yasuo Fukuda's surprise announcement on Sunday that his ruling coalition would draft legislation to compensate all patients who contracted hepatitis C from tainted products, with payments under equal conditions.
"I believe you have all suffered, mind and soul, for many years and have had feelings that can't be expressed into words," Fukuda told the group of patients. "I take this opportunity to apologise from my heart," he said, bowing.
Fukuda, who already faces voter anger over mishandled pension records and a bribery case involving a former top defence official, was dealt a blow last week when patients who had sued the government and drug makers rejected a government proposal for compensation.
The patients turned down the plan that would have given aid to 1,000 patients, saying it aimed to pay sufferers according to when they had been administered tainted blood products. At least 10,000 people are estimated to have contracted hepatitis C from tainted products. Most cases have been linked to fibrinogen, a coagulant used to stop haemorrhaging during surgery or childbirth and sold in Japan even after it was withdrawn in the United States in 1977.
Michiko Yamaguchi, one of four patients who met Fukuda, said she felt the prime minister's apology was sincere but that the patients wanted the government to clarify its responsibility in the scandal.
"We said that unless the legislation states who is responsible for causing and spreading these drug-induced damages, this country can not prevent such incidents from occuring again," Yamaguchi told reporters.
In October, the government was embarrassed when Health Ministry officials admitted to having data that would have helped identify or warn hundreds of hepatitis patients before their illnesses worsened.
Hepatitis C can lead to chronic liver infection and cirrhosis. About 1 percent to 5 percent of people with the disease eventually die from long-term infection, according to the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
The patients had repeatedly asked for a meeting with Fukuda in recent weeks but were turned down, even as media criticised the prime minister as being cold-hearted. Fukuda's meeting with the patients came a week after public opinion polls found support ratings for his cabinet had plunged to just over 30 percent.