It is baffling why the government denies certain people who were in Nagasaki when it was attacked with an atomic bomb the same relief measures it has granted to Hiroshima “hibakusha,” or radiation victims.

Even though it has accepted a new court ruling that all victims in Hiroshima exposed to radioactive “black rain” from the 1945 atomic bombing should, in principle, be listed as hibakusha, the government still refuses to apply this standard to some survivors in Nagasaki.

The government’s stance is highly questionable and disturbing.

The issue concerns people in Nagasaki who were under the mushroom cloud created by the atomic bombing in 1945 but were outside the zone designated by the government for receiving atomic bomb survivor’s certificates and public health benefits.

Last month, the health ministry sent a document to the Nagasaki prefectural administration saying such people, who are collectively known as “hibaku taikensha” (people exposed to radiation), are not eligible for the relief program.

This program limits eligibility to individuals who were in areas specified under the Atomic Bomb Victims Relief Law at the time of the attacks.

The ministry cited a Supreme Court ruling that rejected requests for relief by Nagasaki hibaku taikensha.

The ruling supported the government’s argument that people who were outside a certain radius of ground zero cannot be recognized as victims of health problems caused by radiation since there are no objective records proving the black rain fell outside the designated zone.

The ministry’s document said, “it is difficult to take policy measures that are not consistent with the ruling.”

This is an extremely rigid stance that is not consistent with the way the government supports similar victims in Hiroshima.

In a lawsuit over relief for people who were in areas where black rain fell, the Hiroshima High Court in 2021 upheld the Hiroshima District Court 2020 decision that ordered the government to recognize all plaintiffs, who were exposed to black rain, as hibakusha and issue “hibakusha kenko techo” booklets that entitle the holder to free medical treatment and other benefits to all of them.

The high court ruling was notable in that it ordered public relief for all black rain victims, regardless of whether they developed illnesses, and cited the possibility of internal exposure to radiation through the ingestion of contaminated water and food.

The administration of then Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga decided not to appeal, allowing the high court verdict to be finalized. Suga promised that he would quickly consider measures to ensure that all other individuals in the same boat as the plaintiffs would receive relief.

As a result, many black rain victims in Hiroshima have since received the booklet. Has the government forgotten all this?

There are an estimated 6,000 hibaku taikensha in Nagasaki. The Nagasaki prefectural and municipal governments last year submitted a report based on discussions on the issue by experts to the ministry.

The report claimed that in Nagasaki, as in Hiroshima, black rain fell outside the narrowly defined zone around ground zero at the time. The decision on eligibility for the public relief program should also consider ash and other kinds of radioactive fallout. It is no wonder that the health ministry’s notice has stirred a fierce backlash in Nagasaki.

There is a separate program to support hibaku taikensha who have developed mental health problems. Under this program, the government issues certificates of beneficiaries of health care subsidiaries to such patients who were in certain designated areas.

The government has announced that the scope of this program will be expanded in the fiscal year starting in April to cover seven types of cancer as well.

But the program will still be limited to people who have developed mental health problems because of experiences of being exposed to radiation. It is a far cry from a fundamental solution to the problem.

As the ministry has rejected requests for hibakusha booklets again, some hibaku taikensha who lost their legal battle to be recognized as hibakusha in the past keep fighting for relief in a suit filed with the Nagasaki District Court.

Last month, four of the plaintiffs testified before the court. They said radioactive ash and cinders fell in wide areas in Nagasaki after the bombing, causing health problems for people outside the designated zone as well.

The government should respond to their request that they should be recognized as hibakusha, not hibaku taikensha. It should apologize for sending a document that effectively rejects the lawsuit and change its stance toward the issue, which could cause a chasm between the people of Hiroshima and Nagasaki.

--The Asahi Shimbun, Feb. 2