Draft of final report by health ministry on A-bomb disease certification is made public
Oct. 31, 2013
by Jumpei Fujimura, Staff Writer
The draft of the final report on the A-bomb disease certification system was made public on October 25. The report will be completed by the end of this year by a commission established by the Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare. The emphasis for this proposed revision is on making the current certification standards clearer, taking into account such factors as the distance from the hypocenter. The request made by the Japan Confederation of A- and H-Bomb Sufferers Organizations (Nihon Hidankyo) to implement a new system for providing allowances will be included in the report only as an opinion. Following the completion of the final report, Prime Minister Shinzo Abe will come to a decision on updating the certification system.
During the review sessions, opinions have remained divided between members who support revising the system currently in place and members with ties to Hidankyo who contend that a new system should be established. The proposed outline of the final report includes suggestions from both sides, but gives them differing weight.
While citing the advancing age of survivors and the need to consider the gap between judicial rulings and the certification system, the outline calls for clarifying the system’s standards, putting emphasis on such relevant factors as a survivor’s distance from the hypocenter and scientific knowledge.
Beyond the current seven diseases, among them leukemia and cancer, which offer immediate certification, no other diseases were added for this immediate approval. The draft also stipulates that caution should be given to immediate certification based only on the type of disease.
Citing the effects of residual radiation, Hidankyo argues that it is impossible to determine the exact radiation dose suffered by the survivors. The outline of the report includes Hidankyo’s claim, but also refutes it by saying that, based on current scientific knowledge, it is not appropriate to widen the scope of certification by focusing on residual radiation.
Often disputed in the lawsuits over A-bomb disease certification is the correlation between exposure to the A-bomb’s radiation and illness. The proposed outline says that it is necessary to distinguish A-bomb diseases from other suffering caused by war and that it is appropriate to consider the certification system based on the correlation with radiation.
In August, Prime Minister Abe ordered the Health Ministry to submit the commission’s final report by the end of the year. It is uncertain whether Mr. Abe will revise the system in line with the suggestions made by the commission.
The outline will be released during the 24th session of the commission scheduled for October 29 at the ministry.
Keywords
A-bomb disease certification system
After losing a series of class action lawsuits over the certification of A-bomb diseases, the Japanese government introduced the current certification standards in April 2008. Applicants suffering from any of seven diseases can receive prompt certifications under such conditions as having been exposed to the A-bomb’s radiation within a radius of 3.5 kilometers from the hypocenter or entering the area within a radius of 2 kilometers from the hypocenter within 100 hours of the atomic bombing. For other applicants, all relevant factors are weighed. Responding to complaints from Hidankyo concerning a gap between the judicial rulings and actual certifications made by the government, the Minister of Health, Labour and Welfare established a special commission of experts in December 2010.
(Originally published on October 26, 2013）
The draft of the final report on the A-bomb disease certification system was made public on October 25. The report will be completed by the end of this year by a commission established by the Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare. The emphasis for this proposed revision is on making the current certification standards clearer, taking into account such factors as the distance from the hypocenter. The request made by the Japan Confederation of A- and H-Bomb Sufferers Organizations (Nihon Hidankyo) to implement a new system for providing allowances will be included in the report only as an opinion. Following the completion of the final report, Prime Minister Shinzo Abe will come to a decision on updating the certification system.
During the review sessions, opinions have remained divided between members who support revising the system currently in place and members with ties to Hidankyo who contend that a new system should be established. The proposed outline of the final report includes suggestions from both sides, but gives them differing weight.
While citing the advancing age of survivors and the need to consider the gap between judicial rulings and the certification system, the outline calls for clarifying the system’s standards, putting emphasis on such relevant factors as a survivor’s distance from the hypocenter and scientific knowledge.
Beyond the current seven diseases, among them leukemia and cancer, which offer immediate certification, no other diseases were added for this immediate approval. The draft also stipulates that caution should be given to immediate certification based only on the type of disease.
Citing the effects of residual radiation, Hidankyo argues that it is impossible to determine the exact radiation dose suffered by the survivors. The outline of the report includes Hidankyo’s claim, but also refutes it by saying that, based on current scientific knowledge, it is not appropriate to widen the scope of certification by focusing on residual radiation.
Often disputed in the lawsuits over A-bomb disease certification is the correlation between exposure to the A-bomb’s radiation and illness. The proposed outline says that it is necessary to distinguish A-bomb diseases from other suffering caused by war and that it is appropriate to consider the certification system based on the correlation with radiation.
In August, Prime Minister Abe ordered the Health Ministry to submit the commission’s final report by the end of the year. It is uncertain whether Mr. Abe will revise the system in line with the suggestions made by the commission.
The outline will be released during the 24th session of the commission scheduled for October 29 at the ministry.
Keywords
A-bomb disease certification system
After losing a series of class action lawsuits over the certification of A-bomb diseases, the Japanese government introduced the current certification standards in April 2008. Applicants suffering from any of seven diseases can receive prompt certifications under such conditions as having been exposed to the A-bomb’s radiation within a radius of 3.5 kilometers from the hypocenter or entering the area within a radius of 2 kilometers from the hypocenter within 100 hours of the atomic bombing. For other applicants, all relevant factors are weighed. Responding to complaints from Hidankyo concerning a gap between the judicial rulings and actual certifications made by the government, the Minister of Health, Labour and Welfare established a special commission of experts in December 2010.
(Originally published on October 26, 2013）
