Documenting Hiroshima 80 years after A-bombing: April 3, 1978, Korean survivor Son receives Atomic Bomb Survivor’s Certificate
Apr. 30, 2025
by Kyosuke Mizukawa, Senior Staff Writer
On April 3, 1978, Son Jin doo, a 51-year-old Korean atomic bomb survivor, received an Atomic Bomb Survivor’s Certificate at a public health center in Fukuoka City. It took about six and a half years from the time he applied for one in October 1971, a time during which he filed a lawsuit. “This has been made possible thanks to the people who supported me. I'm very happy to hear other atomic bomb survivors in South Korea are also glad,” he told reporters.
According to the trial records, Mr. Son was born in the city of Osaka in 1927. He moved to Hiroshima with his family in 1944. He was exposed to the atomic bomb at a warehouse of the Telephone and Telegraph Bureau in Minami-machi (now part of Minami Ward), where he worked as a temporary employee. In 1951, he was deported to South Korea for not having registered as a foreign resident.
In 1970, when atomic bomb survivors living abroad were not entitled to receive support from the Japanese government, he was arrested at a fishing port in Saga Prefecture on suspicion of illegal entry into Japan. He was hoping to receive medical treatment for illnesses caused by the atomic bomb’s radiation.
He was found guilty but applied for the certificate to the prefectural government based on the Medical Treatment for Atomic-Bomb Victims Law while being hospitalized in Fukuoka Prefecture. When his application was rejected, he filed a lawsuit with the Fukuoka District Court seeking the revocation of the decision. He won in the first and second trials, and on March 30, 1978, the Supreme Court supported the ruling of the lower courts and ruled the certificate be issued, stating national Law was based on consideration of national reparations.
“The Supreme Court ruling in the Son Jin doo case was a landmark decision that has exerted a great impact on later lawsuits filed by atomic bomb survivors,” said Kazuyuki Tamura, a professor emeritus at Hiroshima University residing in the city’s Higashi Ward. He specializes in administrative law and has been involved in supporting atomic bomb survivors living overseas. The historic ruling was supported by citizens and young lawyers in Hiroshima, Fukuoka, and other regions. The beginning was an article published on December 8, 1970.
(Originally published on April 30, 2025)
On April 3, 1978, Son Jin doo, a 51-year-old Korean atomic bomb survivor, received an Atomic Bomb Survivor’s Certificate at a public health center in Fukuoka City. It took about six and a half years from the time he applied for one in October 1971, a time during which he filed a lawsuit. “This has been made possible thanks to the people who supported me. I'm very happy to hear other atomic bomb survivors in South Korea are also glad,” he told reporters.
According to the trial records, Mr. Son was born in the city of Osaka in 1927. He moved to Hiroshima with his family in 1944. He was exposed to the atomic bomb at a warehouse of the Telephone and Telegraph Bureau in Minami-machi (now part of Minami Ward), where he worked as a temporary employee. In 1951, he was deported to South Korea for not having registered as a foreign resident.
In 1970, when atomic bomb survivors living abroad were not entitled to receive support from the Japanese government, he was arrested at a fishing port in Saga Prefecture on suspicion of illegal entry into Japan. He was hoping to receive medical treatment for illnesses caused by the atomic bomb’s radiation.
He was found guilty but applied for the certificate to the prefectural government based on the Medical Treatment for Atomic-Bomb Victims Law while being hospitalized in Fukuoka Prefecture. When his application was rejected, he filed a lawsuit with the Fukuoka District Court seeking the revocation of the decision. He won in the first and second trials, and on March 30, 1978, the Supreme Court supported the ruling of the lower courts and ruled the certificate be issued, stating national Law was based on consideration of national reparations.
“The Supreme Court ruling in the Son Jin doo case was a landmark decision that has exerted a great impact on later lawsuits filed by atomic bomb survivors,” said Kazuyuki Tamura, a professor emeritus at Hiroshima University residing in the city’s Higashi Ward. He specializes in administrative law and has been involved in supporting atomic bomb survivors living overseas. The historic ruling was supported by citizens and young lawyers in Hiroshima, Fukuoka, and other regions. The beginning was an article published on December 8, 1970.
(Originally published on April 30, 2025)
