A-bomb trio ‘not radiation sufferers’

TOKYO: Japan’s Supreme Court yesterday rejected calls by three survivors of 1945 US atomic bombings to be recognised as sufferers of radiation diseases, which would cut their medical payments, ruling they do not meet the conditions for those in need of treatment.

The health of the three female plaintiffs, who have such conditions as cataracts and thyroid inflammation, has been monitored but they were not actively treated for the illnesses. High court rulings were divided over whether to recognise them as radiation disease sufferers.

“To be recognised as a radiation disease sufferer, there must be a special condition, such as a high risk of an illness deteriorating or recurring,” which makes the follow-up itself indispensable for treatment, the top court ruling said.

People whose illness such as cancer are recognised by the government as caused by radiation from the US atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki and who still require treatment are exempt from medical payments and can additionally receive a monthly special allowance of about 140,000 yen (about 40,000 baht).

Many rulings have been made over the link between an illness and the atomic bombings, but this was the first trial that centred on the need for treatment and state recognition of radiation disease suffers.

The three plaintiffs had filed lawsuits seeking to nullify the government decision not to recognise them as radiation disease sufferers. Nagoya and Hiroshima high courts ruled in favour of the plaintiffs, while the Fukuoka High Court ruled against one of them.

As of late March last year, 7,269 people in Japan were receiving a monthly special medical care allowance for radiation diseases.