Plaintiff group report winning in black rain lawsuit against government in front of the Cenotaph as hibakusha for first time on August 6, believing provision of relief
Aug. 7, 2020
by Teru Matsumoto and Yuichi Yamasaki, Staff Writers
It was the first August 6th morning plaintiffs in the black rain lawsuit were recognized as hibakusha; a survivor of the atomic bombing. “Our efforts have finally paid off,” they said and offered a prayer. The plaintiffs had previously filed a lawsuit over the “black rain” that fell on Hiroshima shortly after the atomic bombing. On July 29, 2020, the Hiroshima District Court admitted the issue of the Atomic Bomb Survivor’s Certificates to the plaintiffs. The plaintiffs strongly believe the national government will abandon any appeal and a blank period during which the plaintiffs were ineligible for the provision of relief will come to an end.
At 8:15 am on August 6, Masaaki Takano, 82, the lead plaintiff and a resident of Saeki Ward, was at the Peace Memorial Ceremony held in the Peace Memorial Park located in Naka Ward. When he bowed his head at the Cenotaph for the A-bomb Victims, the plaintiff group’s past activities came to his mind clearly. Next to him, Seiji Takato, 79, also a resident of Saeki Ward, looked straight at Hiroshima Mayor Kazumi Matsui who was reading out the Peace Declaration. At the moment when Mr. Matsui said, “I demand the political decision to expand the black rain areas,” he nodded deeply.
Back in 1976, the Japanese government designated a “heavy rain area” as an area in which those who had been exposed to the black rain are eligible for the provision of relief. Two years later, those who lived outside the heavy rain area established a council and Mr. Takano joined. He led activities to call on the government for expanding the heavy rain area. The council members, who had lost their patience with the government’s unwillingness to review the designated area, filed class action lawsuits between 2015 and 2018. In July this year, admitting that the black rain fell in areas wider than the designated heavy rain area, the Hiroshima Court District decided that all 84 plaintiffs are recognized as atomic bomb survivors.
After the ceremony, Mr. Takano said with smile, “I was finally able to report good results here. It actually took a very long time.” Meanwhile, 16 plaintiffs passed away after the lawsuit was filed. Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, who gave a speech at the ceremony, did not mention political decisions. Both Mr. Takano and Mr. Takato said, “We are reaching the limit of our physical strength. We would like the national government to take the court ruling seriously.”
At 8:50 am when the Peace Memorial Ceremony was over, Minoru Honke, 80, another plaintiff, turned off the TV at his home in Yuki-cho, Saeki Ward, located about 18 kilometers from the ceremony venue. He looked out of the window and said, “It was about this time when the black rain started to fall.”
When the bomb was dropped on Hiroshima, he was five years old and hit by the black rain in Yuki-cho with his younger brother Akio who was then two years old. Akio got worse day by day and died of liver cirrhosis the following month. Mr. Honke also suffered from unaccountable nose bleeding until his mid-twenties.
The river in front of Mr. Honke’s house was the boundary line of the “heavy black rain area,” and his house was outside the designated area. He had had a very regrettable experience because he was not eligible for the government support program, including a health examination. He said, “It took 75 years to be recognized as ‘hibakusha.’ That’s also where the dread of nuclear weapons lies. I hope that Japan will take the initiative in eliminating nuclear weapons to ensure that no one else will suffer as we did.” As a first step toward that, I am quietly waiting for the government to abandon an appeal against the court ruling.
(Originally published on August 7, 2020)
It was the first August 6th morning plaintiffs in the black rain lawsuit were recognized as hibakusha; a survivor of the atomic bombing. “Our efforts have finally paid off,” they said and offered a prayer. The plaintiffs had previously filed a lawsuit over the “black rain” that fell on Hiroshima shortly after the atomic bombing. On July 29, 2020, the Hiroshima District Court admitted the issue of the Atomic Bomb Survivor’s Certificates to the plaintiffs. The plaintiffs strongly believe the national government will abandon any appeal and a blank period during which the plaintiffs were ineligible for the provision of relief will come to an end.
At 8:15 am on August 6, Masaaki Takano, 82, the lead plaintiff and a resident of Saeki Ward, was at the Peace Memorial Ceremony held in the Peace Memorial Park located in Naka Ward. When he bowed his head at the Cenotaph for the A-bomb Victims, the plaintiff group’s past activities came to his mind clearly. Next to him, Seiji Takato, 79, also a resident of Saeki Ward, looked straight at Hiroshima Mayor Kazumi Matsui who was reading out the Peace Declaration. At the moment when Mr. Matsui said, “I demand the political decision to expand the black rain areas,” he nodded deeply.
Back in 1976, the Japanese government designated a “heavy rain area” as an area in which those who had been exposed to the black rain are eligible for the provision of relief. Two years later, those who lived outside the heavy rain area established a council and Mr. Takano joined. He led activities to call on the government for expanding the heavy rain area. The council members, who had lost their patience with the government’s unwillingness to review the designated area, filed class action lawsuits between 2015 and 2018. In July this year, admitting that the black rain fell in areas wider than the designated heavy rain area, the Hiroshima Court District decided that all 84 plaintiffs are recognized as atomic bomb survivors.
After the ceremony, Mr. Takano said with smile, “I was finally able to report good results here. It actually took a very long time.” Meanwhile, 16 plaintiffs passed away after the lawsuit was filed. Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, who gave a speech at the ceremony, did not mention political decisions. Both Mr. Takano and Mr. Takato said, “We are reaching the limit of our physical strength. We would like the national government to take the court ruling seriously.”
At 8:50 am when the Peace Memorial Ceremony was over, Minoru Honke, 80, another plaintiff, turned off the TV at his home in Yuki-cho, Saeki Ward, located about 18 kilometers from the ceremony venue. He looked out of the window and said, “It was about this time when the black rain started to fall.”
When the bomb was dropped on Hiroshima, he was five years old and hit by the black rain in Yuki-cho with his younger brother Akio who was then two years old. Akio got worse day by day and died of liver cirrhosis the following month. Mr. Honke also suffered from unaccountable nose bleeding until his mid-twenties.
The river in front of Mr. Honke’s house was the boundary line of the “heavy black rain area,” and his house was outside the designated area. He had had a very regrettable experience because he was not eligible for the government support program, including a health examination. He said, “It took 75 years to be recognized as ‘hibakusha.’ That’s also where the dread of nuclear weapons lies. I hope that Japan will take the initiative in eliminating nuclear weapons to ensure that no one else will suffer as we did.” As a first step toward that, I am quietly waiting for the government to abandon an appeal against the court ruling.
(Originally published on August 7, 2020)
