Japanese Prime Minister Kishida Fumio has announced a plan to expand medical support for people who were just outside the state-designated zone of radiation exposure from the 1945 atomic bombing of Nagasaki.
Calls have been made for improved measures for those people who have not been recognized as hibakusha, as they are only eligible for limited support.
Last month, Kishida instructed the health and welfare ministry to consider measures for a reasonable resolution of the matter.
Kishida and health and welfare minister Takemi Keizo met with the governor of Nagasaki Prefecture and the mayor of Nagasaki City in Tokyo on Saturday.
Kishida told reporters after the meeting that the government will revamp the current program for those unrecognized people in order to provide them with medical support equivalent to that of recognized hibakusha.
People who were just outside the state-designated zone are eligible for medical expense support only if they are diagnosed with a mental illness, as they are said to have had no direct impact on their bodies from radiation.
The government plans to ease the requirements and create a program that will cover all the unrecognized people, including those with angina, cardiac infarction and specific cancers.
Kishida indicated that the government will swiftly work on the details of the program with Nagasaki Prefecture and Nagasaki City, so that it can start the support at the earliest possible date within this year.
Earlier this month, the Nagasaki District Court ruled that some of the people who were just outside the state-designated zone should be legally certified as hibakusha.
Kishida said he told the prefecture and city of Nagasaki that the government has no choice but to appeal the ruling, which he described as inconsistent with past court decisions.
Iwanaga Chiyoko heads the group of plaintiffs. She said she is unhappy with the government’s plan for expanded medical expense support, as what plaintiffs are seeking is recognition as hibakusha, not money.
Iwanaga also said that the government should not appeal the ruling if it aims for a reasonable resolution. She vowed that she will give her all if the trial is to continue.