State again loses suit for not certifying A-bomb sufferers

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TOKYO, May 28 Kyodo -
The Tokyo High Court ruled Thursday that the state should certify 29 of 30
plaintiffs as suffering from illness caused by radiation in the 1945 atomic
bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki, scrapping a lower court ruling that
recognized just 21.
The decision marks the state's 18th straight loss in both district and high
courts in lawsuits over the certification of atomic-bomb sufferers, forcing the
state to face further pressure to again review its certification criteria.
''The (current) screening rules are inappropriate in certifying atomic
bomb-related diseases,'' said Presiding Judge Tatsuki Inada. ''The state should
note that the law for aiding atomic-bomb survivors has an element of national
redress and that survivors are aging.''
The court ruled that the link between diseases and atomic-bomb radiation should
be decided after evaluating an applicant in a comprehensive manner, determining
that plaintiffs with liver failure and underactive thyroid function, which are
excluded from the list of specific diseases the state would proactively
certify, should be certified as atomic-bomb sufferers.
''I am very excited,'' said Hidenori Yamamoto, 76, who headed the plaintiffs,
after the ruling was handed down.
''I did not expect such a good ruling to be given to us,'' he added, noting,
''There was one person who was not recognized (as a sufferer), and I am
determined to fight until the day all plaintiffs are given redress.''
The court dismissed one plaintiff's claim, citing difficulty in establishing a
link between his illness and radiation exposure. It also rejected the claim for
3 million yen in damages per person.
''Already 14 plaintiffs have died in the course of the trial, and the state
should understand its cruelty,'' said the plaintiffs' lawyer, Shoji Takamizawa.
''We waited six years (to be recognized as sufferers). The damages should have
been awarded.''
Following the ruling, a project team of the ruling coalition for reviewing the
policies on atomic-bomb survivors admonished Health, Labor and Welfare Minister
Yoichi Masuzoe to resolve the certification issue at once.
The project team of the Liberal Democratic Party and the New Komeito Party
recommended adding liver failure and underactive thyroid function among the
diseases to be proactively certified as radiation-linked in line with the
latest high court ruling.
It also urged the government to certify the winning plaintiffs as sufferers,
proactively provide redress to plaintiffs who are still undergoing trial, and
to deal with plaintiffs who were not recognized in courts as sufferers with
redress in sight.
Separately, Chief Cabinet Secretary Takeo Kawamura told the press, ''I
understand that the ruling reached out to more plaintiffs this time than the
initial ruling. Considering the series of rulings so far, we must speed up the
process to resolve the issue at an early time.''
The government is already set to go over its certification criteria after the
high court ruling.
The Tokyo District Court ruled in March 2007 that 21 of the 30 plaintiffs were
sufferers, while rejecting claims for damages and recognition as sufferers from
nine plaintiffs on the grounds that it is hard to establish any link between
their illnesses and exposure to atomic-bomb radiation.
The plaintiffs, who suffered from cancer, cirrhosis of the liver or other
diseases, had filed the suit with the district court seeking a reversal of the
state's decision not to recognize them as atomic-bomb sufferers and 3 million
yen in damages per person.
The district court ruled that the state should not decide on certification by
simply applying the criteria, but rather take a broader approach and look at
how the applicants were exposed to radiation, what immediate symptoms they
developed, what they did and how they led their lives afterwards.
The state introduced eased criteria in April 2008, but even under the new
criteria, 10 of the 30 plaintiffs, including those who were already recognized
by the court as sufferers of atomic bomb-related diseases, remain unrecognized
as sufferers.
Among the 10, nine were newly recognized in the high court ruling Thursday.
Certified sufferers are eligible for 137,000 yen a month in medical allowances.
Of the 30 plaintiffs, 19 were exposed to radiation in the Hiroshima bombing on
Aug. 6, 1945 and 11 in the Nagasaki bombing three days later.
A total of about 300 people nationwide have filed suits seeking certification
at 17 district courts, and 13 district courts and four high courts have ruled
in favor of the plaintiffs prior to Thursday.
==Kyodo