Japan Press Weekly

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2008 September 24 - 30 [ANTI-N-ARMS]

Hibakusha win court case in Sapporo

The Sapporo District Court on September 22 ordered the government to recognize four Hibakusha (atomic bomb survivors) as suffering from diseases caused by exposure to atomic-bomb radiation.

The lawsuit was filed by seven Hibakusha. Three of them have already been recognized as having A-bomb related diseases under the new government standards introduced in April.

The ruling marks the 11th consecutive victory for Hibakusha in similar lawsuits since they won at the Osaka District Court in May 2006.

The court acknowledged their impaired liver functions and chronic thyroiditis as A-bomb related, although they are not included in five illnesses that the government designates as illnesses caused by the A-bomb under the new criteria.

Yasui Koichi, head of the plaintiffs who came to the court from the hospital in a wheelchair said, “We fought the court struggle with confidence. The struggle with the encouragement of our supporters bore fruit.”

On the same day in Tokyo, representatives of the Japan Confederation of A & H Bomb Sufferers Organizations (Nihon Hidankyo) as well as plaintiffs and their lawyers of Hibakusha’s lawsuits throughout Japan made representations to the Health Ministry, urging it to not appeal against the latest court ruling and improve its criteria to certify Hibakusha’s diseases.

The leader of the national plaintiffs’ group, Yamamoto Hidenori said, “The Sapporo ruling made clear that the government’s new standards do not match actual radiation damages. The government should immediately expand the cases it certifies as A-bomb caused illnesses.”