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February 23, 2016

Court orders Nagasaki to recognize 10 people as A-bomb survivors

http://mainichi.jp/english/articles/20160223/p2g/00m/0dm/002000c

A lawyer holds a banner reading "partial lawsuit victory" outside the Nagasaki District Court in Nagasaki, on Feb. 22, 2016. (Mainichi)

NAGASAKI (Kyodo) -- The Nagasaki District Court accepted on Monday the claims of 10 plaintiffs seeking official recognition as atomic-bomb survivors eligible for special assistance.

• 【Related】10 newly recognized by Nagasaki court as official A-bomb survivors, others to appeal

The 10 individuals were among 161 plaintiffs who argued they experienced the wartime U.S. atomic bombing of the southwestern Japanese city on Aug. 9, 1945, within a 12-kilometer radius of ground zero.

The plaintiffs are defined as individuals "who experienced the bombing," not hibakusha atomic-bomb survivors who are provided with health books and entitled to full compensation including medical assistance.

The plaintiffs failed to receive such recognition as they were outside the oval-shaped, state-designated zone stretching around 7 km from east to west and about 12 km from north to south.

The ruling is the first to order the issuance of health books for such people, according to the plaintiffs' lawyers.

In the suit, the plaintiffs sought that the prefectural and city governments issue the health books so they can receive assistance under the law for support for atomic-bomb survivors.

In the ruling, Presiding Judge Takayuki Matsubasa said, "People who were exposed to radiation stemming from the atomic bomb more than 10 times higher than that in the natural world could suffer damage to health."

The court examined estimated dosage figures submitted by the plaintiffs and determined that only the 10 plaintiffs can be recognized to have received the levels of radiation, the judge said.

The health ministry, meanwhile, said in a statement, "As we are examining the contents (of the ruling), we will decide how to respond by consulting with relevant ministries, and the Nagasaki prefectural and city governments."

The Nagasaki District Court rejected a suit by 395 other plaintiffs who filed a similar suit in 2012, prompting them to appeal to the Fukuoka High Court.