Nagasaki Court Recognizes Some Plaintiffs as A-Bomb Victims

Nagasaki, Sept. 9 (Jiji Press)--Nagasaki District Court on Monday recognized as hibakusha atomic bomb victims some of the people affected by the 1945 U.S. atomic bombing of the southwestern Japan city outside the state-designated zone for recognizing victims.

The court, presided over by Judge Shinsuke Matsunaga, ordered the Nagasaki prefectural and city governments to issue atomic bomb survivor's certificates to 15 of the 44 plaintiffs in the lawsuit. Four of the plaintiffs have already died.

"There are areas outside the state-designated zone where (radioactive) 'black rain' is believed to have fallen," the presiding judge said.

The latest decision came after Hiroshima High Court in 2021 recognized people exposed to the black rain outside such a state-designated zone in Hiroshima, western Japan, as hibakusha.

In the Nagasaki court, the presiding judge underscored the need to decide whether there was a possibility of health damage from radiation based on certain scientific evidence.

[Copyright The Jiji Press, Ltd.]