Former war orphans announce acceptance of government relief proposal

   In a five-year nationwide lawsuit in which former war orphans demand that the state compensate them for damages caused by its failure to swiftly bring them back from China and provide adequate support for them after their return to Japan, plaintiffs and their lawyers on July 8 decided to accept a government relief proposal and settle the cases.

   The proposal which a ruling parties’ project team outlined to the plaintiffs includes that the government will fully cover the national pension premium and pay each former “war orphan” up to 146,000 yen a month as the basic pension benefit and special grant. The government will also provide subsidies on their housing, medical, and nursing care expenses.

   About 2,200 former war orphans who had been left in China filed suits against the government with 15 district courts. Plaintiffs and their supporters have continued sit-in protests in front of the Welfare Ministry.

   The formal settlement will be produced after related bills are enacted in the extraordinary session of the Diet to be convened in autumn.

   At a press conference later in the day, Ikeda Sumie, a 62-year-old plaintiff who represents the plaintiffs’ group, expressed her pleasure that the objective of the lawsuits to live in their homeland without anxiety was met.

- Akahata, July 9, 2007