A Nagasaki court denies special benefits to children of hibakusha
Court rejects claim that radiation from the 1945 bomb blasts affected the children of survivors, accepting the government’s argument that there is no sufficient scientific evidence for higher rates of cancer.
Tokyo (AsiaNews) – In Japan, 6 and 9 August 1945 are sadly engraved in the collective consciousness, when two atomic bombs razed Hiroshima and Nagasaki to the ground, wiping out much of the population.
A few hundred thousand people survived the destruction of the two cities, living with the effects of radiation for the rest of their lives.
Known as hibakusha (bomb-affected people), survivors are entitled to special health care benefits to treat the health consequences of the atomic blasts.
This is a very sensitive topic in Japan, closely touching one of the most traumatic moments in the country's recent history.
Precisely for this reason, the decision by a court in Nagasaki not to extend benefits to the children of the hibakusha has sparked protests in the city, the second to be hit by an atomic bomb.
On Monday, the local district court dismissed a case filed by children of hibakusha, who claimed that the law providing support to atomic bomb survivors was unfair and unconstitutional.
According to the plaintiffs, there is sufficient evidence to show that radiation from the blast also affects the offspring of survivors so that the law should be extended to them.
Laboratory studies on animals found an increased risk of cancer across generations.
The government argued that the studies in question do not apply to humans, stressing that there is no scientific evidence to support the view that radiation has had an impact on the children of hibakusha.
Although the Nagasaki court ruled in favour of the government's argument, a separate but very similar case is currently before the Hiroshima District Court, which is due to rule on the matter soon.
Deciding who can be legally defined as hibakusha and thus have access to related health benefits has become very controversial in recent years, when most survivors have reached old age.
Last year, the Hiroshima High Court ruled that people who suffered the effects of the "black rain" can be considered survivors even if they were outside the Hiroshima city limits at the time of the explosion.
Shortly after the bomb was dropped of 6 August, a highly radioactive rain fell on the city affecting thousands of people.
“We will consider measures to offer relief to others who had the same kind of experience,” said then-Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga in 2021.
Since then, survivors have received new benefits but only those from around Hiroshima, not Nagasaki, where the same rain fell after the 9 August bombing.
Hibakusha associations expressed disappointment at the discrimination between survivors of the two cities.
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06/08/2020 10:04
