Prime minister seeks to improve certification system for A-bomb diseases
Aug. 7, 2013
by Osamu Kido and Jumpei Fujimura, Staff Writers
On August 5, it was learned that Prime Minister Shinzo Abe will announce his intention on August 6, the anniversary of the atomic bombing, to seek changes to the A-bomb disease certification system in order to grant prompt certifications to applicants. Although the certification criteria was relaxed in 2008, applications continue to be rejected. Mr. Abe is poised to review the current standards so that aging A-bomb survivors will have quicker access to relief measures.
News of the prime minister’s position came from members of the Liberal Democratic Party (LDP). Regarding this quicker access to relief measures, a parliamentarian association comprised of LDP Diet members have made the following proposals: in cases where survivors who were exposed to the atomic bombing within a radius of 3.5 kilometers from the hypocenter have developed leukemia or cancer, all will be eligible for certification; in cases where people entered the city in the aftermath of the blast, such diseases as hypothyroidism, as well as cancer, will be promptly certified as A-bomb diseases.
The previous Democratic Party of Japan (DPJ) administration launched a commission in 2010 to review the certification system for A-bomb diseases, after applications were rejected in succession even under revised standards. Within the commission, the members representing the Japan Confederation of A- and H-Bomb Sufferers Organizations (Nihon Hidankyo) and other members have remained on different wavelengths when it comes to the draft of the new system.
Based on the proposals made by the parliamentarian association and the review commission, the prime minister will apparently seek to improve the certification system.
The A-bomb disease certification criteria were relaxed significantly in April 2008 after the central government lost a succession of class action lawsuits across the nation. The new standards enabled those who had developed such diseases as cancer and liver disorders, and had been exposed to the bombing within a radius of 3.5 kilometers from the hypocenter, to gain prompt certification. Mr. Abe, who was then prime minister, was the catalyst behind this revision and announced this intention when he met with A-bomb survivors in August 2007.
Despite the relaxed standards, however, applications continue to be turned down, one after another. Nearly half of the 9,878 applications made in the five-year period which ended at the close of March were rejected.
The Health and Welfare Ministry cites the causal correlation between exposure to the A-bomb’s radiation and disease as one factor in these rejections. But the Osaka District Court has ruled that eight survivors who were turned down under the revised standards are indeed suffering from A-bomb diseases and it ordered the Japanese government to reverse these application decisions.
Keywords
A-bomb disease certification system
Based on the Atomic Bomb Survivors Relief Law, experts investigate such factors as the correlation between exposure to the A-bomb’s radiation and illness, and the Minister of Health, Labour and Welfare certifies applicants as sufferers of A-bomb-related diseases. In the class action lawsuits led by the Japan Confederation of A- and H-Bomb Sufferers Organizations (Nihon Hidankyo), seeking the reversal of rejections for this certification, among other demands, the Japanese government lost a series of cases. Against this backdrop, the Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare moved to relax the criteria for certification in April 2008. Applicants suffering from any of seven diseases can receive prompt certifications as long as they meet certain provisions, such as having been exposed to the A-bomb’s radiation within a radius of 3.5 kilometers from the hypocenter or entering the area within a radius of 2 kilometers from the hypocenter within 100 hours of the atomic bombing. Other applicants are judged in a comprehensive manner.
(Originally published on August 6, 2013)
On August 5, it was learned that Prime Minister Shinzo Abe will announce his intention on August 6, the anniversary of the atomic bombing, to seek changes to the A-bomb disease certification system in order to grant prompt certifications to applicants. Although the certification criteria was relaxed in 2008, applications continue to be rejected. Mr. Abe is poised to review the current standards so that aging A-bomb survivors will have quicker access to relief measures.
News of the prime minister’s position came from members of the Liberal Democratic Party (LDP). Regarding this quicker access to relief measures, a parliamentarian association comprised of LDP Diet members have made the following proposals: in cases where survivors who were exposed to the atomic bombing within a radius of 3.5 kilometers from the hypocenter have developed leukemia or cancer, all will be eligible for certification; in cases where people entered the city in the aftermath of the blast, such diseases as hypothyroidism, as well as cancer, will be promptly certified as A-bomb diseases.
The previous Democratic Party of Japan (DPJ) administration launched a commission in 2010 to review the certification system for A-bomb diseases, after applications were rejected in succession even under revised standards. Within the commission, the members representing the Japan Confederation of A- and H-Bomb Sufferers Organizations (Nihon Hidankyo) and other members have remained on different wavelengths when it comes to the draft of the new system.
Based on the proposals made by the parliamentarian association and the review commission, the prime minister will apparently seek to improve the certification system.
The A-bomb disease certification criteria were relaxed significantly in April 2008 after the central government lost a succession of class action lawsuits across the nation. The new standards enabled those who had developed such diseases as cancer and liver disorders, and had been exposed to the bombing within a radius of 3.5 kilometers from the hypocenter, to gain prompt certification. Mr. Abe, who was then prime minister, was the catalyst behind this revision and announced this intention when he met with A-bomb survivors in August 2007.
Despite the relaxed standards, however, applications continue to be turned down, one after another. Nearly half of the 9,878 applications made in the five-year period which ended at the close of March were rejected.
The Health and Welfare Ministry cites the causal correlation between exposure to the A-bomb’s radiation and disease as one factor in these rejections. But the Osaka District Court has ruled that eight survivors who were turned down under the revised standards are indeed suffering from A-bomb diseases and it ordered the Japanese government to reverse these application decisions.
Keywords
A-bomb disease certification system
Based on the Atomic Bomb Survivors Relief Law, experts investigate such factors as the correlation between exposure to the A-bomb’s radiation and illness, and the Minister of Health, Labour and Welfare certifies applicants as sufferers of A-bomb-related diseases. In the class action lawsuits led by the Japan Confederation of A- and H-Bomb Sufferers Organizations (Nihon Hidankyo), seeking the reversal of rejections for this certification, among other demands, the Japanese government lost a series of cases. Against this backdrop, the Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare moved to relax the criteria for certification in April 2008. Applicants suffering from any of seven diseases can receive prompt certifications as long as they meet certain provisions, such as having been exposed to the A-bomb’s radiation within a radius of 3.5 kilometers from the hypocenter or entering the area within a radius of 2 kilometers from the hypocenter within 100 hours of the atomic bombing. Other applicants are judged in a comprehensive manner.
(Originally published on August 6, 2013)
