Government’s designation of area as exposed to radioactive fallout is inaccurate

Japan Press Weekly

Japan Press Service Co., Ltd. is the only news agency providing information of progressive, democratic movements in Japan

Government’s designation of area as exposed to radioactive fallout is inaccurate
- Akahata editorial (excerpts)

Hiroshima City has recently discovered that radioactive fallout “black rain” after the atomic bombing on Hiroshima in 1945 affected a much wider area than designated by the government.

Based on the Hibakusha Aid Law, the government provides medical assistances to those who had been exposed to the “black rain” within the area it designates as affected by the radiation-contaminated rain. It must expand the designated area as the municipal government’s latest research suggests.

From June to November in 2008, Hiroshima City conducted a major research project on about 27,000 residents living in the city or its neighboring cities, and found out that many people had witnessed the radiation-contaminated rain outside the area recognized by the government as the black rain-affected area.

In response to Hiroshima’s research findings, more than 800 people who have not obtained Hibakusha certificates testified that they had been exposed to the “black rain” outside the designated area. The research indicates that the area where the black rain had fallen could be six times larger than the one recognized by the government.

Health Minister Nagatsuma Akira said on March 9 in response to a question by Japanese Communist Party representative Nihi Sohei that the government will take the research result seriously. It is urgent for the Hatoyama Cabinet to reconsider the officially recognized designated area in order to provide medical assistance to all the people who had been exposed to radioactive fallout.

- Akahata, April 9, 2010