Hiroshima will not appeal ruling involving A-bomb survivors engaged in rescue operations
Apr. 10, 2009
by Uzaemonnaotsuka Tokai, Staff Writer
On April 7, the City of Hiroshima announced that it would not appeal the Hiroshima District Court ruling on a lawsuit involving A-bomb survivors (hibakusha) who were engaged in rescue operations after the atomic bombing. The lawsuit was filed by seven plaintiffs, whose applications for the Atomic Bomb Survivor’s Certificate as “No. 3 Hibakusha” had been rejected by the City of Hiroshima. The court has declared that the City of Hiroshima illegally rejected the plaintiffs’ applications during its screening procedure commissioned by the Japanese government. The Health Services Bureau of the Ministry of Health, Labor and Welfare (MHLW) said that it would respect the decision of the City of Hiroshima in granting the Atomic Bomb Survivor’s Certificate to all plaintiffs.
Hiroshima Mayor Tadatoshi Akiba met with six of the seven plaintiffs at Hiroshima City Hall and presented the Atomic Bomb Survivor’s Certificate to them. He apologized, saying, “We’re sorry for the time it took to issue these certificates.” At a news conference, the mayor commented, “Seeking the judgment of a higher court would waste more time.”
The City of Hiroshima has also scrapped the requirement, in issuing the Atomic Bomb Survivor’s Certificate for No. 3 Hibakusha, which stipulated that applicants had to be involved in transportation of or relief/nursing care activities for 10 or more survivors a day. The city will now carefully examine the circumstances of the seven plaintiffs’ exposure to the atomic bombing and, based on information provided by lawyers and scientists acquainted with internal exposure to radiation, promptly establish a new guideline.
In developing this new guideline, the City of Hiroshima will also confer with Hiroshima Prefecture, Nagasaki Prefecture, and Nagasaki City. It will then inform MHLW, which has not established a “uniform criteria,” of the new standard. The city, which screens application materials for the Atomic Bomb Survivor’s Certificate along with Hiroshima Prefecture, Nagasaki Prefecture, and Nagasaki City, will adopt the new guideline as “the de facto criteria” and encourage other prefectures to adopt it, too.
The seven plaintiffs are male and female survivors ranging in age from 65 to 78. Six of them were involved in caring for other survivors at temples or elementary schools in the former Saeki, Aki, or Asa Districts, where hibakusha gathered. The other plaintiff was carried on the back of a parent, while that parent was engaged in relief work.
The City of Hiroshima rejected their applications for the Atomic Bomb Survivor’s Certificate between August 2002 and January 2005 on the grounds that the city cannot verify sufficient information to meet its screening requirements. The Hiroshima District Court’s decision on March 25 pointed out that the plaintiffs had spent a considerable amount of time in an environment, within about two weeks of the atomic bombing, where many hibakusha gathered. The court declared the city’s decision to be illegal, as there can be no denying that the plaintiffs were affected by residual radiation from the atomic bombing. The due date for appealing the ruling, April 8, was approaching when the city announced its decision.
(Originally published on April 8, 2009)
by Kyosuke Mizukawa, Staff Writer
The fact that the City of Hiroshima will not appeal the Hiroshima District Court’s decision has increased the chance for those who might have experienced internal exposure to radiation through rescue operations to become entitled to relief measures. Though the city is simply abiding by the court’s verdict, the decision of the city, made in consideration of the reality of aging hibakusha, is to be appreciated.
According to the City of Hiroshima, it annually receives as many as 50 to 60 applications for the Atomic Bomb Survivor’s Certificate as No. 3 Hibakusha, even though more than 60 years have passed since the atomic bombing. But in fiscal 2008, the city rejected 42 applications, which did not meet the city-established requirement that applicants had to be involved in transportation of or relief/nursing care activities for 10 or more survivors a day. Only about 20 percent of the applicants were certified as No. 3 Hibakusha.
The Hiroshima District Court ruling criticized the city’s guideline, saying: “The City of Hiroshima introduced this numerical requirement without thoroughly examining whether this requirement had reasonable grounds.”
Needless to say, the attitude of the Japanese government, which has not compiled uniform screening criteria for No. 3 Hibakusha, should face criticism. But it is also true that the local government of the A-bombed city of Hiroshima, which has contended with the damage caused by the bomb’s radiation for many years, has not effectively examined the guideline for internal exposure and simply applied this guideline to the applications for the Atomic Bomb Survivor’s Certificate.
It is now appropriate that the City of Hiroshima swiftly develop a new screening guideline. The city, though, should also bear responsibility for convincing the Japanese government to recognize the guideline as a standard not solely for A-bombed areas, but also for Japan itself as “a national uniform criteria.”
No. 3 Hibakusha
No. 3 Hibakusha, as stipulated in Category 3 of Article 1 in the Atomic Bomb Survivors Relief Law, are hibakusha “who were in an environment where they were physically affected by radiation from the atomic bombing.” The definition of No. 3 Hibakusha does not cover the area within a radius of about two kilometers from the hypocenter. A-bomb survivors are certified as No. 2 Hibakusha if they entered the area within a radius of about two kilometers of the hypocenter within two weeks of the atomic bombing. No. 3 Hibakusha, other than those engaged in relief work for or transportation of survivors, include those exposed to “Black Rain,” which fell immediately after the atomic bombing. As of the end of March 2008, there are 24,928 No. 3 Hibakusha, accounting for 10 percent of all certified hibakusha.
(Originally published on April 8, 2009)
Related articles
First court ruling involving rescue operations in bomb’s aftermath (March 31, 2009)
On April 7, the City of Hiroshima announced that it would not appeal the Hiroshima District Court ruling on a lawsuit involving A-bomb survivors (hibakusha) who were engaged in rescue operations after the atomic bombing. The lawsuit was filed by seven plaintiffs, whose applications for the Atomic Bomb Survivor’s Certificate as “No. 3 Hibakusha” had been rejected by the City of Hiroshima. The court has declared that the City of Hiroshima illegally rejected the plaintiffs’ applications during its screening procedure commissioned by the Japanese government. The Health Services Bureau of the Ministry of Health, Labor and Welfare (MHLW) said that it would respect the decision of the City of Hiroshima in granting the Atomic Bomb Survivor’s Certificate to all plaintiffs.
Hiroshima Mayor Tadatoshi Akiba met with six of the seven plaintiffs at Hiroshima City Hall and presented the Atomic Bomb Survivor’s Certificate to them. He apologized, saying, “We’re sorry for the time it took to issue these certificates.” At a news conference, the mayor commented, “Seeking the judgment of a higher court would waste more time.”
The City of Hiroshima has also scrapped the requirement, in issuing the Atomic Bomb Survivor’s Certificate for No. 3 Hibakusha, which stipulated that applicants had to be involved in transportation of or relief/nursing care activities for 10 or more survivors a day. The city will now carefully examine the circumstances of the seven plaintiffs’ exposure to the atomic bombing and, based on information provided by lawyers and scientists acquainted with internal exposure to radiation, promptly establish a new guideline.
In developing this new guideline, the City of Hiroshima will also confer with Hiroshima Prefecture, Nagasaki Prefecture, and Nagasaki City. It will then inform MHLW, which has not established a “uniform criteria,” of the new standard. The city, which screens application materials for the Atomic Bomb Survivor’s Certificate along with Hiroshima Prefecture, Nagasaki Prefecture, and Nagasaki City, will adopt the new guideline as “the de facto criteria” and encourage other prefectures to adopt it, too.
The seven plaintiffs are male and female survivors ranging in age from 65 to 78. Six of them were involved in caring for other survivors at temples or elementary schools in the former Saeki, Aki, or Asa Districts, where hibakusha gathered. The other plaintiff was carried on the back of a parent, while that parent was engaged in relief work.
The City of Hiroshima rejected their applications for the Atomic Bomb Survivor’s Certificate between August 2002 and January 2005 on the grounds that the city cannot verify sufficient information to meet its screening requirements. The Hiroshima District Court’s decision on March 25 pointed out that the plaintiffs had spent a considerable amount of time in an environment, within about two weeks of the atomic bombing, where many hibakusha gathered. The court declared the city’s decision to be illegal, as there can be no denying that the plaintiffs were affected by residual radiation from the atomic bombing. The due date for appealing the ruling, April 8, was approaching when the city announced its decision.
(Originally published on April 8, 2009)
Commentary: Uniform criteria for screening procedure of A-bomb Survivor’s Certificate urgently needed
by Kyosuke Mizukawa, Staff Writer
The fact that the City of Hiroshima will not appeal the Hiroshima District Court’s decision has increased the chance for those who might have experienced internal exposure to radiation through rescue operations to become entitled to relief measures. Though the city is simply abiding by the court’s verdict, the decision of the city, made in consideration of the reality of aging hibakusha, is to be appreciated.
According to the City of Hiroshima, it annually receives as many as 50 to 60 applications for the Atomic Bomb Survivor’s Certificate as No. 3 Hibakusha, even though more than 60 years have passed since the atomic bombing. But in fiscal 2008, the city rejected 42 applications, which did not meet the city-established requirement that applicants had to be involved in transportation of or relief/nursing care activities for 10 or more survivors a day. Only about 20 percent of the applicants were certified as No. 3 Hibakusha.
The Hiroshima District Court ruling criticized the city’s guideline, saying: “The City of Hiroshima introduced this numerical requirement without thoroughly examining whether this requirement had reasonable grounds.”
Needless to say, the attitude of the Japanese government, which has not compiled uniform screening criteria for No. 3 Hibakusha, should face criticism. But it is also true that the local government of the A-bombed city of Hiroshima, which has contended with the damage caused by the bomb’s radiation for many years, has not effectively examined the guideline for internal exposure and simply applied this guideline to the applications for the Atomic Bomb Survivor’s Certificate.
It is now appropriate that the City of Hiroshima swiftly develop a new screening guideline. The city, though, should also bear responsibility for convincing the Japanese government to recognize the guideline as a standard not solely for A-bombed areas, but also for Japan itself as “a national uniform criteria.”
No. 3 Hibakusha
No. 3 Hibakusha, as stipulated in Category 3 of Article 1 in the Atomic Bomb Survivors Relief Law, are hibakusha “who were in an environment where they were physically affected by radiation from the atomic bombing.” The definition of No. 3 Hibakusha does not cover the area within a radius of about two kilometers from the hypocenter. A-bomb survivors are certified as No. 2 Hibakusha if they entered the area within a radius of about two kilometers of the hypocenter within two weeks of the atomic bombing. No. 3 Hibakusha, other than those engaged in relief work for or transportation of survivors, include those exposed to “Black Rain,” which fell immediately after the atomic bombing. As of the end of March 2008, there are 24,928 No. 3 Hibakusha, accounting for 10 percent of all certified hibakusha.
(Originally published on April 8, 2009)
Related articles
First court ruling involving rescue operations in bomb’s aftermath (March 31, 2009)
