Hibakusha take concerted legal action demanding recognition as having A-bomb-related diseases

Seeking recognition as sufferers from diseases caused by atomic bomb radiation, 21 A-bomb survivors (Hibakusha) on May 27 filed suits against the government in Tokyo, Osaka, and Chiba district courts.

This is the second such action, the first being on April 17. The 21 plaintiffs had filed applications for recognition as Hibakusha with A-bomb related illnesses but had been rejected by the government.

Among 17 plaintiffs in Tokyo, 16 of them are suffering from cancer, and the other has cirrhosis of the liver. They have demanded that the government acknowledge their diseases as caused by A-bomb radiation.

The Tokyo plaintiffs at a press conference expressed their determination to do all they can to make known to the public the inhumanity of A-bombs and to change the state policy on Hibakusha. Their lawyers stated that they want to increase anti-nuclear public consciousness through the court struggle.

A third group of Hibakusha will file lawsuits on June 12 in Hiroshima, Nagasaki, and Kumamoto. (end)