The governor of Japan’s Nagasaki Prefecture and the mayor of Nagasaki City say local people hope that no appeal will be filed against the recent district court ruling that some unrecognized atomic bomb survivors in Nagasaki should be legally certified as “hibakusha.”
Governor Oishi Kengo and Mayor Suzuki Shiro made the remarks at the health and welfare ministry on Wednesday. The ministry is in charge of the recognition system.
Their visit to the ministry came after the Nagasaki District Court ruled on Monday that some of the individuals who were just outside the government-designated zone of radiation exposure from the 1945 atomic bombing of Nagasaki should be officially recognized as hibakusha.
The governor and mayor said the plaintiffs and other local people strongly hope that no appeal will be filed against the ruling.
They said they had confirmed the need for swiftly considering a reasonable resolution that will allow all people who were just outside the state-recognized area, including those who were not recognized as hibakusha in the latest ruling, receive necessary support.
Senior ministry officials reportedly said the government will firmly accept the local people’s wish and take part in talks.
The ministry plans to continue talks with the prefecture and the city of Nagasaki and consider whether to appeal and explore new support for unrecognized atomic bomb survivors.
The court case involved 44 plaintiffs who were within 12 kilometers of the hypocenter when the atomic bomb exploded.
But they were outside the government-designated zone, and were therefore not recognized as hibakusha. Without that status, survivors receive only limited medical support.
The district court found that 15 of the 44 plaintiffs qualify as hibakusha, saying they were in an area where so-called “black rain” containing radioactive substances fell.