By KAI NEMOTO/ Staff Writer
December 13, 2024 at 18:07 JST
The Hiroshima High Court (Asahi Shimbun file photo)
Children of atomic bomb survivors remain ineligible for the same government support given to their parents following a ruling handed down by the Hiroshima High Court on Dec. 13.
The lawsuit was filed by a group of 27 individuals consisting of children of Hiroshima atomic bomb survivors.
They sought compensation on the grounds that withholding support for hibakusha's children violates the Constitution's stipulation of equality.
Presiding Judge Kenji Takamiya upheld the ruling of the Hiroshima District Court that previously dismissed the plaintiffs’ claim and dismissed the appeal in this ruling again.
The ruling from the first trial at the Hiroshima District Court pointed out that although the possibility of health complications in survivors' children cannot be completely written off, "genetic effects to their health has not become a prevailing view or persuasive opinion."
The district court also noted that “it is natural that the plaintiffs, who are the second generation of atomic bomb survivors, are concerned about their own health.”
However, it ultimately concluded that the difference in support measures for hibakusha and their children “cannot be evaluated as unfair discrimination.”
Under the law concerning relief for atomic bomb survivors, the government defines hibakusha as those who were near the hypocenters of the bombings or entered the area afterward, in addition to those who were in other specific situations.
Eligible individuals' medical expenses are covered and they have access to health checks that include cancer screenings.
Conversely, their children do not qualify for these benefits. Although they are provided with health checks based on health ministry guidelines, cancer screenings are not included.
The plaintiffs claimed that the exclusion of hibakusha's children from relief measures is unconstitutional based on animal experiments and other evidence supporting the possibility of hereditary effects caused by radiation.
Children of hibakusha in Nagasaki previously filed a similar lawsuit, but their claims were denied in both the first and second rulings. They have since appealed to the Supreme Court.
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