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Government informs A-bomb survivors of sweeping review of Atomic Bomb Survivors Relief Law

by Kohei Okata, Staff Writer

On January 14, the Japan Confederation of A-and H-bomb Sufferers Organizations, the nationwide groups of plaintiffs and lawyers involved in the class action lawsuits over A-bomb disease certification, and Health, Labor, and Welfare Minister Akira Nagatsuma held the first regular meeting at the Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare (MHLW) to engage in discussions designed to resolve concerns involving the A-bomb disease certification system. Mr. Nagatsuma revealed his intention to accelerate a sweeping review of the certification system by revising the Atomic Bomb Survivors Relief Law. He also vowed to promptly develop "a screening management program" to shorten the waiting time of about 7,800 people who are now waiting for the screening procedure for the A-bomb disease certification.

At the meeting, Mr. Nagatsuma stated that "Further relaxation of the A-bomb disease certification criteria would be difficult without a revision of the law." Referring to the fact that the main premise of the Atomic Bomb Survivors Relief Law is the correlation between the diseases and the radiation emitted by the atomic bombs, or the possibility that the diseases have been induced by radiation, he said "there should be discussions to relax the law itself." Mr. Nagatsuma announced his intention to swiftly develop a draft plan.

While the Japan Confederation of A- and H-bomb Sufferers Organizations has recognized the need for the revision of the certification system itself, it also requested that the government first relax the current certification system, which was once eased in April 2008, and accelerate the certification procedure, based on the judicial decisions regarding A-bomb survivors (hibakusha) so far. Concerning the revision of the Atomic Bomb Survivors Relief Law, the confederation called for careful consultations in view of the whole picture of the administrative practices involving hibakusha.

Mr. Nagatsuma indicated his idea to formulate the "screening management program" and actively work on the disclosure of the information, such as that on developments of the screening, responding to the applicants' concern. On the other hand, Mr. Nagatsuma rejected the idea of having a screening committee of experts in the cities of Hiroshima and Nagasaki, which was presented by the Japan Confederation of A-and H-bomb Survivors Organizations with the aim of accelerating the screening procedure.

Mr. Nagatsuma was joined by MHLW Vice Minister Hiroyuki Nagahama and Parliamentary Vice-Minister Kazunori Yamai as representatives of the government. On the hibakusha side, 15 plaintiffs and lawyers of the class action lawsuits from Hiroshima and Nagasaki attended the meeting and about 100 people listened to the discussions. The next regular meeting is scheduled for October.

Hidenori Yamamoto, 76, the leader of the nationwide group of plaintiffs involved in the class action lawsuits over A-bomb disease certification, said, "I'm glad that the future directions of several issues have been presented so early. We hope to continue using the regular meeting as an opportunity to hold fruitful discussions, not as a forum where the minister simply listens to us speak."

(Originally published on January 15, 2010)

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