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Government will not appeal Tokyo High Court ruling on Hibakusha
The government will not appeal the May 28 Tokyo High Court ruling that ordered the state to certify the diseases of nine a-bomb survivors (Hibakusha) as caused by exposure to atomic bomb radiation, Labor, Health, and Welfare Minister Masuzoe Yoichi announced on June 9.
Later in the day, 13 people, including plaintiffs, their lawyers, and the Japan Confederation of A & H Bomb’s Sufferers Organizations (Hidankyo) met with Masuzoe to request that the government give relief to all plaintiffs and to settle the lawsuit by drastically revising the government’s standard for certifying Hibakusha as suffering from illnesses caused by A-bomb radiation exposure.
In the meeting, Masuzoe said, “I will ask Prime Minister Aso Taro to make the final decision. The government must accept the importance of the fact that the government suffered 18 consecutive losses in the lawsuits. I want to work to reach a settlement in a satisfactory manner without delay.”
Plaintiffs in the Hibakusha lawsuits have been holding a sit-in in front of the Health Ministry from May 26.
Following Masuzoe’s statement, the leader of the national group of plaintiffs in the Hibakusha lawsuits, Yamamoto Hidenori, 76, said, “I’m glad to hear that the government will not appeal. But six years have been too long. If the government had established criteria earlier for certification based on Hibakush’s actual suffering, many Hibakush’s lives would be saved.”
At the House of Councilors Health, Labor, and Welfare Committee meeting on June 9, Japanese Communist Party representative Koike Akira urged Health Minister Masuzoe to decide to settle the lawsuit by giving relief to all plaintiffs and to revise the standards of certification in accordance with court decisions without delay. - Akahata, June 10, 2009
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