Japan Press Weekly

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2009 March 18 - 24 [ANTI-N-ARMS]

JCP promises to do its utmost to help Hibakusha settle their lawsuit

Japanese Communist Party Chair Shii Kazuo stated that the JCP will do its best to help atomic bomb survivors (Hibakusha) reach a final settlement in the nationwide concerted lawsuits against the government over recognition of Hibakusha’s diseases as A-bomb related.

On March 17, Shii met with representatives of plaintiffs in the Hibakusha lawsuits and their lawyers who visited him to request support for their struggle to achieve a settlement in their lawsuits.

The meeting took place five days after the Tokyo High Court ordered the government to certify plaintiffs’ illnesses as caused by the 1945 A-bombings on Hiroshima and Nagasaki, giving Hibakusha their 14th consecutive victory in their lawsuits. This ruling also called for the Health Ministry to recognize more diseases of Hibakusha as caused by A-bomb radiation exposure than the new standards implemented since April 2008.

Pointing out that the new standards are still prejudicial against applicants in determining whether Hibakusha’s diseases are related to A-bomb radiation, Japan Confederation of A- and H-Bomb Sufferers Organizations (Nihon Hidankyo) Secretary General Tanaka Terumi requested Shii to urge Health Minister Masuzoe Yoichi to directly listen to Hibakusha’s demand that the government withdraw its appeals against court decisions and revise the new standards.

Referring to the Tokyo High Court decision which mentioned health problems that may have been caused even by small amounts of radiation and which criticized the Health Ministry for treating Hibakusha based on their exposure dosage, Shii said, “This is a landmark ruling achieved by your struggles. Now is the time to urge the government to make a responsible political decision.” He said that the JCP will cooperate with other parties in order to achieve a comprehensive settlement of the issue.