Hiroshima High Court’s decision on A-bomb disease certification lawsuit to become final as A-bomb survivors give up appeal to Supreme Court
Jul. 7, 2020
by Teru Matsumoto, Staff Writer
On July 6, the legal defense team for 11 A-bomb survivor plaintiffs who filed a class-action lawsuit over A-bomb disease certification decided to accept a Hiroshima High Court’s ruling and not appeal the case to the Supreme Court of Japan. The Hiroshima High Court’s ruling recognized five plaintiffs as suffering from A-bomb diseases while rejecting the claims of the other six plaintiffs. The 11 plaintiffs demanded that the Japanese national government reverse the decision to reject their applications for A-bomb disease certification, arguing it was unjust not to recognize their thyroid dysfunction and other diseases caused by exposure to the atomic bombing as being A-bomb diseases. The Japanese national government also plans not to appeal the decisions, meaning that the Hiroshima High Court’s ruling is expected to be confirmed on July 7, when the appeal deadline expires.
The point of contention in the case was whether the plaintiffs’ diseases were caused by A-bomb radiation. The Hiroshima High Court’s ruling, delivered on June 22, acknowledged that the diseases of five plaintiffs were induced by radiation. While the court reversed the Japanese government’s decision to reject all the applications and instead recognized five of the plaintiffs as suffering from A-bomb diseases, it dismissed the claims made by the remaining six plaintiffs.
These six plaintiffs are in their 80’s and 90’s and live in and around the city of Hiroshima. The legal team said it decided not to appeal the case, because the six plaintiffs, after the high court’s ruling, expressed their intention to give up on any appeal, due in part to the difficulty in carrying on the court battle at their advanced ages. The Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare said in an interview with the Chugoku Shimbun, “After consultations with relevant government ministries and agencies, we decided not to appeal to a higher court (regarding the five plaintiffs recognized as suffering from A-bomb diseases).”
(Originally published on July 7, 2020)
On July 6, the legal defense team for 11 A-bomb survivor plaintiffs who filed a class-action lawsuit over A-bomb disease certification decided to accept a Hiroshima High Court’s ruling and not appeal the case to the Supreme Court of Japan. The Hiroshima High Court’s ruling recognized five plaintiffs as suffering from A-bomb diseases while rejecting the claims of the other six plaintiffs. The 11 plaintiffs demanded that the Japanese national government reverse the decision to reject their applications for A-bomb disease certification, arguing it was unjust not to recognize their thyroid dysfunction and other diseases caused by exposure to the atomic bombing as being A-bomb diseases. The Japanese national government also plans not to appeal the decisions, meaning that the Hiroshima High Court’s ruling is expected to be confirmed on July 7, when the appeal deadline expires.
The point of contention in the case was whether the plaintiffs’ diseases were caused by A-bomb radiation. The Hiroshima High Court’s ruling, delivered on June 22, acknowledged that the diseases of five plaintiffs were induced by radiation. While the court reversed the Japanese government’s decision to reject all the applications and instead recognized five of the plaintiffs as suffering from A-bomb diseases, it dismissed the claims made by the remaining six plaintiffs.
These six plaintiffs are in their 80’s and 90’s and live in and around the city of Hiroshima. The legal team said it decided not to appeal the case, because the six plaintiffs, after the high court’s ruling, expressed their intention to give up on any appeal, due in part to the difficulty in carrying on the court battle at their advanced ages. The Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare said in an interview with the Chugoku Shimbun, “After consultations with relevant government ministries and agencies, we decided not to appeal to a higher court (regarding the five plaintiffs recognized as suffering from A-bomb diseases).”
(Originally published on July 7, 2020)
