2009 December 2 - 8 [
WELFARE]
Law enacted to give relief to all plaintiffs in A-bomb disease lawsuits
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December 2, 2009
The Diet on December 1 enacted a law to extend financial assistance to people who have lost lawsuits to obtain official certification as sufferers of diseases caused by the 1945 atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki.
For over six years, A-bomb survivors (Hibakusha) have fought in court battles to receive state recognition as having A-bomb related illnesses. On November 30, district courts in Yokohama and Fukuoka ruled in favor of the plaintiffs, marking 21 consecutive defeats for the government.
Konishi Satoru, the assistant general secretary of the Japan Confederation of A- and H-Bomb Sufferers' Organizations (Hidankyo) who was watching a Lower House plenary session from the public gallery, said, “The enactment of the law marks a major change we had never imagined possible before. The constant efforts of holding small meetings and signature drives have helped to create this outcome.”
“The government has yet to make clear the state responsibility for the damages caused by the past war. We will continue to work to achieve our ultimate goal: the abolition of nuclear weapons,” Konishi added.
In solidarity with Hibakusha’s struggles, the Japanese Communist Party has continuously called on the government to agree to an overall settlement of the court battles by providing relief to all plaintiffs and revising its criteria for certification of A-bomb related illness patients in accordance with the previous court judgments.
JCP Policy Commission Chair Koike Akira published the following comment on the same day as the establishment of the law:
We have finally achieved the first step to give shape to the agreement made between the former government and plaintiffs of Hibakusha lawsuits on August 6. This achievement would not have been possible without the struggles of Hibakusha and their supporters for over six years to reveal the extent of A-bomb damages.
Their efforts have pushed the government to give relief to many Hibakusha by revising its criteria for certifying A-bomb-caused illnesses. However, as the latest rulings given by the Fukuoka and Yokohama district courts show, the revision is still not enough to reflect the actual extent of damages caused by A-bomb radiation.
The immediate tasks are to set up regular meetings between Hibakusha and the welfare minister in order to fully carry out the agreement to bring the court battles to settlement and further improve measures to provide relief to Hibakusha. The JCP will do its utmost to achieve this goal.
- Akahata, December 2, 2009
