Japan Press Weekly

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2014 March 26 - April 1 [ANTI-N-ARMS]

5 Hibakusha in Kumamoto win court ruling on recognition of A-bomb illnesses

The Kumamoto District Court on March 28 ruled five out of eight Hibakusha as sufferers of A-bomb diseases by overturning the national government dismissal of their applications for recognition as A-bomb related illness patients.

The eight plaintiffs living in Kumamoto Prefecture were in Nagasaki City at the time of the atomic bombing and were exposed to radiation.

They filed a lawsuit in 2011 after the state rejected their applications for official certification as Hibakusha with diseases caused by the 1945 atomic bombing.

The national government has argued that it is difficult to give them certification for their diseases as A-bomb related even under the new criteria for recognition of A-bomb illnesses set by the Welfare Ministry at the end of last year.

The court recognition of the five Hibakusha’s illnesses as A-bomb related shed light on problems in the government recognition system.

After the ruling at a press conference, plaintiff Yamanaka Teruo, 69, said, “I want the state to change the system to one enabling Hibakusha to receive the certification without hassles.”

The plaintiffs group and their lawyers issued a statement demanding that the national government fundamentally review the current system.


Past related article:
> Hibakusha disappointed with new criteria [December 17, 2013]