Hibakusha request government to improve treatment

A-bomb survivors (Hibakusha) and peace activists, led by the Japan Confederation of A and H Bombs Sufferers Organizations (Nihon Hidankyo), on October 31 put pressure on the government to accept the Hibakusha's demands and expand assistance to them. They also urged the government to take the initiative in getting nuclear weapons eliminated.

Nihon Hidankyo last July encouraged Hibakusha to jointly file applications in order to be recognized as those who suffer diseases caused by atomic bombings.

At the Ministry of Health, Labor, and Welfare, Nishimoto Tamiko, secretary general of the Ishikawa Prefecture A-bomb Sufferers' Friends Committee, stated that the minister should listen to Hibakusha whose lives were completely shattered by the nuclear attack.

Morita Takashi and Morita Ayako from the Association of Hibakusha Living in Brazil, who are fighting in court to get the Hibakusha Aid Law applied to them, requested that the government provide medical care for Hibakusha living outside Japan.

Japanese Communist Party Diet members encouraged Hibakusha and promised to bring their demands to the government. (end)