Hepatitis B sufferers decided Saturday to accept a court-proposed settlement plan of lawsuits they filed against the government on condition the state offers them apologies and blanket compensation, they said.

The move will help end a series of damages suits filed across Japan by hepatitis B patients and virus carriers believed infected due to repeated use of needles during group vaccinations decades ago, as the state has already expressed its readiness to accept the Sapporo District Court’s proposal that it pay compensation to both patients and carriers.

‘‘This is a tough decision, but we decided to accept (the proposal) to swiftly end this issue,’’ the plaintiffs said in a statement issued after their meeting in Tokyo.

The government is considering enacting a special law to offer compensation to all the sufferers who are estimated at a maximum of 440,000 across Japan including those who are not involved in the lawsuits.

It remains unclear, however, how the government can secure a total of roughly 3.2 trillion yen, which is estimated to be needed in the next 30 years to offer the relief.

‘‘We have no plans yet at this moment’’ on how to cover the compensation package, Chief Cabinet Secretary Yukio Edano told reporters in Naha, Okinawa Prefecture, which he was visiting. ‘‘We are at the final stage of discussions and are trying to develop a good solution.’‘

Earlier this month, the Sapporo District Court proposed that the government pay 12.5 million to 36 million yen in damages to hepatitis B patients depending on their condition as well as 500,000 yen each in compensation plus expenses for health checkups and transportation to asymptomatic carriers who do not develop any symptoms.

The vaccination law was put into effect in 1948 with the aim of preventing the spread of infectious diseases such as diphtheria and tuberculosis, and mass vaccinations began for children at school. Needles are believed to have been used repeatedly until around 1980s.

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