State loses fifth suit over snub of hibakusha illness claims

The Tokyo District Court ruled Thursday that 21 of 30 plaintiffs in a lawsuit should be state-certified as having illnesses caused by radiation from the 1945 atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki, again telling the government there are flaws in its recognition criteria.

Holding photos of fellow plaintiffs who died after filing their lawsuit, survivors of the 1945 atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki and their supporters stand Thursday behind a sign proclaiming victory in their legal battle for government certification of their illnesses, after the Tokyo District Court ruled that 21 of 30 of them should be recognized. KYODO PHOTO

The decision marks the fifth loss by the state in as many rulings by district courts on suits over certification of atomic bomb survivors, of which 17 have been filed nationwide.

"There are limits to the criteria, and overly rigorous requirements of scientific evidence (for certification) would not serve to save the victims -- the purpose of the A-bomb Victims' Relief Law," presiding Judge Toshihiko Tsuruoka said in handing down the ruling.

The court ruled the state should not decide on the certification by simply applying the criteria but rather take a broader approach and look at how applicants were exposed to radiation, what immediate symptoms they developed, what they did and how they led their lives afterward.

The plaintiffs have cancer, liver cirrhosis or other diseases filed the suit seeking a reversal of the state's decision not to recognize them as hibakusha and 3 million yen in damages per person.

The court, however, rejected their damages claims and also rejected nine plaintiffs' claims for recognition, saying it is difficult to establish a relation between their illness and exposure to the bomb radiation.

Someone recognized as having an illness caused by radiation from an atomic bomb is eligible for 137,000 yen per month in medical benefits.

Of the 26,000 people who have been certified by the state as having been exposed to one of the atomic bombings as of last March, only 2,280 -- or 0.9 percent -- have been certified as having illnesses caused by the bombings.

The survivors with specific diseases are eligible for medical allowances of 34,000 yen a month even without being so certified.

After the ruling, the government said it will decide its next move after holding internal talks.

The reactions of the plaintiffs were mixed, with the joy over the overall win and displeasure over some of the members being rejected by the ruling.

"I cannot accept that a different judgment was handed down on my fellow plaintiffs who have fought together," said Yoshitane Umezono, 67, deputy chief of the plaintiff group.

The plaintiffs, comprising residents of Tokyo and Ibaraki Prefecture and the next of kin of those who have died, claimed the state's criteria for issuing the certification disregards the effects of residual radiation after the bombings, while the state argued the criteria are founded on scientific grounds and are reasonable.

Under the current certification system, which was introduced in May 2001, a radiation-caused illnesses is determined chiefly by the amount of radiation calculated the victim was exposed to, based on the person's distance from ground zero and the type of malady.

If the disease is cancer or leukemia, the probability of it being caused by atomic bomb radiation is calculated by the sex and age of the victim at the time of exposure, in addition to the calculated amount of radiation.

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 24 of them were exposed to radiation at locations 1 km to 4.2 km away from ground zero, while the remaining six came near ground zero within 13 days of the bombings, according to the plaintiffs.

Eleven of the plaintiffs have died during the course of the litigation.

One of them was Umezono's childhood friend, Yukihiro Ukon, who died of malignant lymphoma right after the suit was filed. In Thursday's ruling, Ukon was among the nine plaintiffs whose illness was deemed not to have been caused by radiation.

Umezono was 5 years old and 2 km from the hypocenter when he was exposed to radiation in Hiroshima. He developed pancreatic cancer in 1987 at age 47, and the cancer spread to the lung five years later.

His two previous applications for certification of having radiation-caused illnesses were rejected and the government only mailed him a brief note without any explanation as to why he had been rejected. One of his neighborhood acquaintances who was several hundred meters closer to ground zero was certified.

"I felt miserable, because we were both hit in the same town. I cannot accept it even if I am told that it's the difference in the distance," Umezono said.

Of the 17 similar suits filed nationwide, the Osaka, Hiroshima, Nagoya and Sendai district courts each ruled in favor of the plaintiffs, recognizing 54 out of 56 plaintiffs as having radiation-triggered illness.

The state filed an appeal over the most recent ruling, handed down Tuesday by the Sendai District Court. But the latest decision by the Tokyo court is likely to add pressure on the government to change its certification policy.