TOKYO – 23 residents of Japan’s Hiroshima have filed a suit with the Hiroshima District Court, demanding recognition of their status as victims of radioactive “black rain” following the 1945 US atomic bombing, reported Xinhua.
In their suit yesterday, the plaintiffs, aged 70 to 90, argued that the scope of the “black rain” was much wider than the government’s claim – and that if they were found to have been exposed to radioactive rain, they should be identified as victims regardless of whether they were sick or not.
The “black rain” is nuclear fallout or radioactive blackened rain that fell after the US atomic bombs exploded over Hiroshima and Nagasaki in 1945. People suffer from diseases due to being drenched by the rain or drinking water and eating crops contaminated by it.
The Japanese government divided radioactively contaminated areas from the nuclear explosions into heavy rain exposure zones and light rain exposure zones according to the duration and range of “black rain”.
Only residents suffering from radiation-related illnesses in heavy rain zones could be identified as victims of nuclear explosions and have access to relevant state treatment.
In July 2021, the Hiroshima High Court ruled that 84 people in Hiroshima Prefecture are eligible to receive state health care benefits even though they were exposed to the “black rain” outside an area recognised by the government.
In response to the ruling, the Japanese government launched a new scheme in April 2022, stating that people who meet two requirements are granted the atomic bomb survivor’s certificate: those who were, or may have been, exposed to the “black rain”, and those who have developed diseases including 11 specified illnesses.
The 23 plaintiffs earlier applied for the distribution of health manuals for nuclear bomb victims according to the new initiative, but some were rejected because they could not prove where they lived at the time, and others have not been notified of the result after applying for more than one year and five months. – Bernama, April 29, 2023
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