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Requirement that applicants overseas must visit Japan to apply for A-bomb relief is scrapped

by Sakiko Masuda, Staff Writer

On March 8, it was learned that the Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare (MHLW) has indicated that it will begin to accept applications for the "medical checkup certificate for A-bomb survivors" (hibakusha), for which applications can be filed by those who once lived in the area of the black rain that fell in the aftermath of the atomic bombing, at Japanese embassies and consulates within the new fiscal year. As the MHLW has also said that it will accept applications for A-bomb disease certification from overseas from early next fiscal year, the requirement that applicants must visit Japan to apply for relief measures will be completely removed.

Since December of 2008, it has been possible to file applications for the Atomic Bomb Survivor's Certificate from overseas. Now, the MHLW, in consultation with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MOFA), has concluded that Japanese embassies and consulates will be able to make preparations to accept applications for the medical checkup certificate as well. The enforcement regulations of the Atomic Bomb Survivors Relief Law will be revised in the near future so that the medical checkup certificate can be pursued from overseas.

Those who possess the medical checkup certificate are considered "deemed hibakusha" and can receive medical checkups for free. If they suffer from one of 11 diseases designated by the Japanese government, their certificate can be converted to the Atomic Bomb Survivor's Certificate, which provides a limited amount of health care subsidies. Therefore, the Japanese government is also advancing preparations so that applicants can obtain the necessary diagnosis from doctors overseas.

According to the MHLW, about 730 people in Japan possessed the medical checkup certificate as of the end of March 2009, including about 320 holders in Hiroshima Prefecture. The MHLW said that it did not know the number of holders overseas.

As recently as March 4, Ho Man Jeong, 77, deputy chair of the South Korean Atomic Bomb Sufferers Association, accompanied four Koreans who visited Hiroshima City Hall to receive the medical checkup certificate. He expressed his delight at the removal of the requirement that applicants for relief measures must visit Japan, saying, "Filing an application will now be easier for the elderly and disabled."

Keywords

Requirement that hibakusha overseas must visit Japan to apply for relief measures
As the former Atomic Bomb Survivors Relief Law stipulated that the Atomic Bomb Survivor's Certificate be applied to "prefectural governors in the region where applicants are or live," the procedure regarding the relief measures for hibakusha overseas required applicants to visit Japan in person. However, the Supreme Court, in a lawsuit filed by former Korean conscripted laborers in November 2007, declared the former Ministry of Health and Welfare's directive No. 402, which stated that hibakusha overseas were not targeted for providing medical subsidies, "illegal." The ruling that the government should provide compensation for the plaintiffs was finalized. This decision has led to the enforcement of the revised Atomic Bomb Survivors Relief Law in December 2008, which enables an application to be made for the Atomic Bomb Survivor's Certificate from overseas, and provided the momentum for suddenly relaxing the requirement about the relief measures.

(Originally published on March 9, 2010)

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