Court refuses to help children of Hiroshima atomic bomb survivors

TOKYO (AP) — A Japanese court on Tuesday dismissed a lawsuit filed by a group of children of Hiroshima atomic bombing survivors seeking government assistance for medical costs, saying the hereditary effects of radiation exposure were still unknown .

A group of 28 plaintiffs whose parents were exposed to radiation in the August 6, 1945 US nuclear attack have asked the central government to include them in the medical care available to survivors.

The Hiroshima District Court said the possibility of a hereditary effect of radiation could not be denied, but there was no established scientific consensus and the government’s exclusion of the plaintiffs from medical care was not unconstitutional.

The government has insisted that there is no scientific evidence showing a hereditary effect of parents’ exposure to radiation on their children.

The plaintiffs filed a lawsuit in 2017, each seeking 100,000 yen (US$760) in damages from the government, saying their exclusion violated the constitutional right to equality.

A similar lawsuit by her colleagues in Nagasaki was also dismissed in December.

Plaintiffs said they plan to appeal Tuesday’s decision, which they called “unfair.”

“It was an extremely cold verdict,” plaintiff Taku Kakuda told reporters. “It was as if we were being ordered to prove human exposure to radiation with our bodies.”

The atomic bombing of Hiroshima destroyed the city and killed 140,000 people. The United States dropped a second bomb on Nagasaki three days later, killing another 70,000. Japan surrendered on August 15, 1945, ending World War II and its almost fifty years of aggression in Asia.

Many survivors of the bombings have suffered permanent injuries and illnesses from the blasts and radiation exposure, and have faced discrimination in Japan.

Their children, known as “hibaku nisei,” or second-generation atomic bomb survivors, say they constantly worry about the potential hereditary effects of radiation from their parents’ exposure, and many have developed various forms of cancer and other health problems. They estimate their number at 300,000 to 500,000.

Currently, only survivors and those with prenatal exposure who have been certified can receive government medical assistance for their radiation sickness and cancer screening. The government began offering free medical screening for their children in 1979, but cancer screening is not included.

“We understand that the court has accepted our reasoning,” Cabinet Chef Hirokazu Matsuno said of Tuesday’s verdict.

Mari Yamaguchi, The Associated Press

Source