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The plaintiffs win the “Black Rain” lawsuit – Landmark ruling criticizes
administrative discretion given based on “A-bomb survivors” defined in A-bomb Survivors Relief Law
The people outside the “heavy rainfall area” determined by the state were exposed to “black rain” that fell
immediately after the atomic bombing in Hiroshima have not been eligible for relief. The country has responded
to health damages of these people outside the designated area with the discretion to temporarily issue
hibakusha (atomic bomb survivors) health handbooks to them with certain conditions. However, on April 29,
the Hiroshima District Court made the first decision to recognize them as A-bomb survivors
in a lawsuit that demanded that the government should issue hibakusha
health handbooks also to A-bomb survivors who had been
exposed to radiation after “black rain” fell outside the area designated by the state. After a lapse of 75
years, A-bomb survivors’ legitimate wishes have finally been answered. The Court did not stick to the decision
made by the then state, judged “A-bomb survivors” with reflecting back to the purpose of the Law and severely
criticized the administrative decision beyond the law. I think that it has unexpectedly offered recommendation
to cope with radiation exposure problem in the future. Although judgement can be completely opposite depending
on whether the judiciary stands for the government or for the people. I feel that the Hiroshima District Court
has shown us some hope for the future.
Manoji, Chief-in-editor
July 30, 2020
Note:
Shanti-phula has indicated some parts of the following text in black bold-faced type or in red letters.
Distributed by Twitter
【速報】原爆投下直後に降った「黒い雨」で健康被害を受けたとして、広島県内の84人が、県と広島市に被爆者健康手帳の交付などを求めた訴訟の判決で、広島地裁は29日、原告らを被爆者と認め、県と市に手帳の交付を命じました。t.co/xNmhbflmSx
— 毎日新聞 (@mainichi) July 29, 2020
The Mainichi Shimbun
@mainichi
[Breaking News]
A group of 84 people in Hiroshima Prefecture had filed a lawsuit against Hiroshima Prefecture and
Hiroshima City to seek issuance of hihbakusha health handbooks
to them for the reason of health damage caused by “black rain” that fell immediately after the
A-bombing. On 29, the Hiroshima District Court recognized the plaintiffs as A-bomb survivors and ordered
the prefecture and the city to issue the health handbooks to them.
The Hiroshima District Court orders to issue hibakusha health handbooks to A-bomb survivors outside the relief area Plaintiffs win in the “black rain” lawsuit
The 84 men and women demand Hiroshima Prefecture and City to issue hibakusha health handbooks to them …
English translation of an excerpt from Asahi
Shimbun DIGITAL – July 29, 2020
The plaintiffs win in the “black rain”
lawsuit
The prefecture and the city ordered to issue hibakusha health handbooks to all plaintiffs
The state has targeted
only the area of heavy rainfall, where rain was said to have fallen heavily. The recent judicial decision has
admitted to issue the handbooks to people in other areas. We could say that the ruling will help us
severely criticize the state relief administration in the 75th anniversary of
the end of World War II.
The state did not directly recognize people in the heavy rainfall area as
“A-bomb survivors,” but rather rescued them
with a policy called as the “switchover” policy, in which if a specific disease such as cancer is found in
subsequent medical examination, they are issued hibakusha handbooks.
The ruling strictly
criticized the state’s administrative framework to help A-bomb survivors based on such notification by saying
that “it cannot be
allowed under the principle of administration by law.” The court rejected the
state’s objection, in which the state described “within the scope of discretion”
as temporary measures.
<The rest is omitted>
English translation of an excerpt from a Japanese article:
NHK NEWS WEB – July 29, 2020
Hiroshima District Court rules that people outside the area designated
by the country should be recognized as A-bomb survivors
<snip>
The Hiroshima District Court pointed out in its ruling that “the survey conducted by the meteorological
observatory at the time, which was used as the basis for the government’s designation of the relief area, was
limited because it was conducted with limited manpower in the chaos of the immediate aftermath of the bombing.”
Furthermore, based
on a survey conducted by a number of experts, the court determined that the
black rain fell over a wider area than the government had determined, and that
if a person had been affected by the rain to the same extent outside the relief
area and had developed a disease, he could be admitted as an A-bomb survivor.
The court pointed
out that all of the plaintiffs in this case were found to have been exposed to “black rain” or to have been
internally exposed as a result of continuing to live in the area, and that they
were affected to the same extent as people in relief area.
And they were all recognized as A-bomb survivors because they suffered from any of the 11 diseases designated
by the government.
<The rest is omitted>
Distributed by Twitter
原子雲は対流圏と成層圏の境界に沿って水平に広がり、その下は放射能空間となり、黒い雨が降った、と矢ケ崎克馬先生の講演会でお聞きしました。私たちの想像以上に被害の範囲は広かったのだと思いました。 t.co/IDUZEBRz0K
— takagiyasuyo (@tehomay) August 5, 2015
takagiyasuyo
@tehomay
The atomic bomb cloud spread out horizontally along the boundary between the troposphere and the
stratosphere, creating radioactive space underneath, and black rain fell. I heard Dr. Katsuma Yagasaki
talk about it at a lecture meeting. I thought that the extent of the damage was much wider than our
imagination.
私が話を聞いた都内の女性は、「対象地域にいましたが、差別を恐れて申請しませんでした。でも最近からだの調子が悪くて…」と悩んでいました。
— 青木美希 (@aokiaoki1111) July 29, 2020
広く救済を認めるべきです。よかった。 t.co/gO8m2CKZVN #核といのちを考える
Miki Aoki
@aokiaoki1111
A woman in Tokyo I listened to said, “Although I was in the applicable area, I didn’t give application
because I was afraid of being discriminated. But I’ve been in bad shape recently.” She suffered.
Relief should be granted to a wide range of people. I feel relieved to hear about this news.
#think about nuclear and life
Plaintiffs win lawsuit over “black rain”; the court ordered the prefecture and the city to issue notebooks to all: Asahi Shimbun Digital
Hiroshima city and Hiroshima Prefecture refused application for the Atomic Bomb Survivor’s notebooks by the plaintiffs who have suffered health damage from “black rain” that fell after the A-bombing in Hiroshima, which is illegal …
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