Hibakusha protest against government refusal to recognize them as having A-bomb diseases

Nine A-bomb survivors (Hibakusha) in Nagasaki on January 10 jointly protested against the government rejection of their applications for recognition as Hibakusha with A-bomb-related diseases.

Six people took the objection to Nagasaki City and three others to Nagasaki Prefecture. Although fifteen Hibakusha applied for official recognition on July 9, 2002, only two applications have been approved by the government.

The secretary general of the Nagasaki A-bomb Sufferers Association, Yamada Hirotami, expressed his anger saying, "How heartless the Health, Labor, and Welfare Minister is. It even refuses to give us the reason for the rejections."

Shono Junko, who twice underwent surgery for stomach cancer and was told more surgery is required, said, "The government should not judge us only on the basis of paper work. It should treat us as human beings and hear our voices." (end)