Court orders Hiroshima City to recognize rescue workers as Hibakusha

Japan Press Weekly

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Court orders Hiroshima City to recognize rescue workers as Hibakusha

The Hiroshima District Court on March 25 ordered Hiroshima City to certify all seven people as Hibakusha (A-bomb survivors) because they were exposed to atomic bomb radiation during their relief work in the wake of the atomic bombing of Hiroshima.

The seven people, aged 65 to 78, had filed a lawsuit claiming that it was illegal for the municipal government to turn down their applications for Hibakusha certificates between August 2002 and January 2005.

The ruling, which focuses on Hibakusha's internal exposure to radiation, is likely to influence the outcome of the present concerted Hibakusha lawsuits demanding that the government recognize them as Hibakusha with diseases caused by atomic bomb radiation exposure.

Under its own criteria, Hiroshima City designates rescue workers as Hibakusha if they rescued more than 10 injured people. The ruling criticized the municipal government for continuously applying the criteria without examining its rationale.

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The government on March 25 appealed against the Tokyo High Court and Hiroshima District Court orders to certify Hibakusha as A-bomb related disease sufferers.

Plaintiffs and lawyers held a press conference at the Health Ministry on the same day. The head of the plaintiffs' group, Yamamoto Hidenori, criticized the government's decision as "infringing on Hibakusha's hopes."

- Akahata, March 26, 2009