Japan Press Weekly

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2013 December 11 - 17 [ANTI-N-ARMS]

Hibakusha disappointed with new criteria

The government on December 16 adopted new criteria to recognize atomic bomb survivors (Hibakusha) with diseases caused by the A-bomb radiation exposure, stretching only a little bit from the current criteria.

The new one disappoints Hibakusha who have called for a drastic improvement in the official recognition standards and for a relief of all Hibakusha plaintiffs who fought in court to seek official recognition that their illnesses are A-bomb related.

The Japan Confederation of A- and H-Bomb Sufferers’ Organizations (Nihon Hidankyo) immediately issued a statement protesting that the new criteria ignore a series of court decisions made in favor of Hibakusha’s demands based on the actual conditions of radiation exposure and the effects of residual radiation.

Hiroshima City Mayor Matsui Kazumi and Nagasaki City Mayor Taue Tomihisa also expressed disappointment that the new criteria fall short of narrowing the gap between the court judgments and the existing standards.

The two mayors on the same day visited the Prime Minister’s Office and requested that PM Abe increase the scope of recognition.

Nagasaki Mayor Taue responding to the press after visiting the PM Office said, “The new criteria will exclude certain Hibakusha. This should not be the final revision. I’d like the government to advance its recognition standards by checking their validity.”