Court orders government to recognize Hibakusha's hepatitis C as caused by A-bomb
A court on March 31 ordered the government to certify that Azuma Kazuo, an atomic-bomb survivor (Hibakusha), has hepatitis C caused by A-bomb.
The Tokyo District Court judge stated, "Exposure to a massive dose of radiation has caused and developed Azuma's chronic hepatitis."
The 75 year-old plaintiff was exposed to radiation at 1.3 km away from the hypocenter in Nagasaki. In 1994, he requested the government to recognize his hepatic function disorder as caused by the A-bombing, but was rejected. Since Azuma filed this lawsuit in 1999, the government has been insisting that his disease was caused by the hepatitis C virus.
"Exposed to radiation at age of 16, I have been suffering for 60 years. The government must not appeal to a higher court," said Azuma.
More than 150 Hibakusha and supporters celebrated the victory with Azuma at a rally after the court was closed. Azuma's lawyers reported the significance of the ruling, stressing that it revealed how unscientifically the government judges Hibakusha's diseases.
In a published statement on the same day, the Japan Council against A & H Bombs (Japan Gensuikyo) said, "The court pointed out the wrongfulness of the state's Hibakusha-supporting system, which is premised on its policy of abandoning Hibakusha, and the importance of recognizing A-bomb afflictions based on actual conditions." (end)
