Association of A-bomb survivors requests lawmakers to stipulate state compensation in Atomic Bomb Survivors Relief Law
Mar. 17, 2014
by Jumpei Fujimura, Staff Writer
On March 12, the Japan Confederation of A- and H-bomb Sufferers Organizations (Nihon Hidankyo) called on lawmakers to stipulate in the Atomic Bomb Survivors Relief Law that the state will provide compensation for damages caused by the atomic bombings. Five more lawmakers of the Upper and Lower Houses expressed their support for state compensation, bringing the number of advocates to 54.
A total of 80 members of Nihon Hidankyo, from 20 prefectures including Hiroshima and Nagasaki, visited lawmakers’ offices in the Diet Members’ Building in small groups. They sought signatures from legislators to indicate support for a revision to the law. In addition to state compensation, the A-bomb survivors are calling for the Japanese government to include its determination to advance the cause of nuclear abolition into the spirit of the law.
In a meeting held in the Diet Building with visiting lawmakers, Terumi Tanaka, the secretary general of Nihon Hidankyo, said, “Japan is changing into a nation which can again wage war.” He was critical of the administration of Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, which is believed to look favorably on approving the right of collective self-defense. “A-bomb survivors must continue to call for state compensation so that no more citizens will become the victims of war,” Mr. Tanaka said.
(Originally published on March 13, 2014)
On March 12, the Japan Confederation of A- and H-bomb Sufferers Organizations (Nihon Hidankyo) called on lawmakers to stipulate in the Atomic Bomb Survivors Relief Law that the state will provide compensation for damages caused by the atomic bombings. Five more lawmakers of the Upper and Lower Houses expressed their support for state compensation, bringing the number of advocates to 54.
A total of 80 members of Nihon Hidankyo, from 20 prefectures including Hiroshima and Nagasaki, visited lawmakers’ offices in the Diet Members’ Building in small groups. They sought signatures from legislators to indicate support for a revision to the law. In addition to state compensation, the A-bomb survivors are calling for the Japanese government to include its determination to advance the cause of nuclear abolition into the spirit of the law.
In a meeting held in the Diet Building with visiting lawmakers, Terumi Tanaka, the secretary general of Nihon Hidankyo, said, “Japan is changing into a nation which can again wage war.” He was critical of the administration of Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, which is believed to look favorably on approving the right of collective self-defense. “A-bomb survivors must continue to call for state compensation so that no more citizens will become the victims of war,” Mr. Tanaka said.
(Originally published on March 13, 2014)
