Japan Court Rules 84 A-Bomb 'Black Rain' Victims

A Japanese high court ruled Wednesday that 84 people in Hiroshima Prefecture are eligible to receive state health care benefits even though they were exposed to radioactive "black rain" following the 1945 US atomic bombing outside an area currently recognized by the government, Kyodo News reported.

Upholding a lower court decision last year, the Hiroshima High Court ruled in favor of the plaintiffs, saying they should receive the same benefits as those provided for atomic bomb survivors who were in the zone where the state has recognized black rain fell.

The high court ruling is expected to impact the ongoing review by the central government on areas where black rain fell and its health impact.

In line with a Hiroshima District Court ruling in July last year the high court recognized all 84 plaintiffs, including deceased individuals, as hibakusha, or survivors of the atomic bombing and ordered the prefectural and city governments of Hiroshima to accept their applications for state health care benefits.

For the recognition of the plaintiffs as atomic bomb victims, "it is sufficient to prove that the possibility of damage to their health due to atomic bomb radiation cannot be ruled out," said Presiding Judge Kazuto Nishii.

The high court said radioactive rain fell in a wider area beyond the designated zone and the plaintiffs are hibakusha because they are likely to have suffered health damage caused by their exposure to radiation. The ruling accepted the plaintiffs' claim that there was also a possibility of internal radiation exposure due to the ingestion of contaminated food and well water.

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