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Fewer applications than expected for A-bomb Survivor’s Certificate from overseas

by Hiromi Morita, Staff Writer

Three months have passed since the revised Atomic Bomb Survivors Relief Law took effect on December 15, 2008. The revision now permits A-bomb survivors (hibakusha) who live abroad to apply for the Atomic Bomb Survivor’s Certificate from overseas. The four local governments in Hiroshima Prefecture, Hiroshima City, Nagasaki Prefecture, and Nagasaki City, which are in charge of screening the application materials, have received only 13 new applications to date, less than 10 percent of what they had estimated beforehand. This situation has shed light on the difficulties facing hibakusha overseas for even if the revised law has paved the way for them to file an application from where they reside, they have no way of proving their experience of the atomic bombing.

Under the revised Atomic Bomb Survivors Relief Law, application forms for the Atomic Bomb Survivor’s Certificate are submitted by survivors overseas to Japanese embassies or consulates in their own countries and then sent to one of the four local governments, depending on where the person encountered the atomic bombing. Based on hearings held by A-bomb survivors’ organizations abroad, Hiroshima City had estimated that the four local governments would receive 155 new applications. But the number of new applications from South Korea, North America, and South America actually amounts to only 13, 11 of which were received by Hiroshima City.

Meanwhile, there are 26 applications from hibakusha overseas who have already proven their experience of the atomic bombing and have obtained the Atomic Bomb Certificate of Acknowledgement. These people can receive the Atomic Bomb Survivor’s Certificate in exchange for the Atomic Bomb Certificate of Acknowledgement as long as they travel to Japan. The number of this kind of application is about 80 percent of the estimated total. Hiroshima City received 22 of the 26 applications.

A notice issued by the Japanese government in 1957 helps explain why there have been a fewer number of new applications than expected. In principle, A-bomb survivors are required to submit both application materials and the testimonies of two or more witnesses to substantiate their experience of the atomic bombing. A-bomb survivors’ organizations in South Korea, the U.S., and Brazil have pointed out that the revision of the Atomic Bomb Survivor’s Law came too late for hibakusha to locate witnesses.

Teruko Morinaka, 77, a representative for the North America A-Bomb Survivors Association (NABS), explained, “Because time has passed since we came to the U.S., we’re unable to find witnesses to verify our experiences of the atomic bombing. Without a car, we can’t even reach the consulate in a large country like the U.S.” Many members of NABS are said to have given up filing these applications as they could not gain the cooperation of their family members born in the U.S.

Keisaburo Toyonaga, 72, director of the Hiroshima branch of the Association of Citizens for the Support of South Korean Atomic Bomb Victims, complained, “It’s unreasonable to expect hibakusha overseas, who can’t travel to Japan and haven’t been able to apply for the Atomic Bomb Survivor’s Certificate for many years, to meet the established requirements. We need to ask the Japanese government to relax the screening policy.”

The number of applications for the Atomic Bomb Survivor’s Certificate received by Hiroshima City by way of consulates
New Applications: South Korea: 8; U.S.: 2; Canada: 0; Brazil: 1; Total: 11
Applications from those with Atomic Bomb Certificate of Acknowledgement: South Korea: 16; U.S.: 4; Canada: 2; Brazil: 0; Total: 22
Total Applications: South Korea: 24; U.S.: 6; Canada: 2; Brazil: 1; Total: 33

Applications for Atomic Bomb Survivor’s Certificate from overseas
Before the revised Atomic Bomb Survivors Law took effect on December 15, 2008, hibakusha overseas could not file an application for the Atomic Bomb Survivor’s Certificate unless they came to Japan. Once they obtain the Atomic Bomb Survivor’s Certificate, they can apply for various allowances, including an allowance for health care, at consulates in the countries where they reside. They can also receive these allowances from these consulates. However, they are still unable to apply for A-bomb disease certification from overseas and must come to Japan to file this application.

(Originally published on March 15, 2009)

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