Editorial: Politicians must act swiftly in light of Nagasaki A-bomb ‘black rain’ ruling

The Nagasaki District Court has recognized 15 out of 44 plaintiffs who experienced radioactive “black rain” following the Nagasaki atomic bombing outside the state-designated relief zone as “A-bomb survivors” eligible for public aid, and has ordered the Nagasaki prefectural and municipal governments to issue them A-bomb survivor’s certificates.

The court lent its ear to the testimony of victims and acknowledged that black rain indeed fell in Nagasaki after the Aug. 9, 1945, U.S. atomic bombing of the city, as it did after the atomic bombing of Hiroshima three days prior.

After the atomic bombing of Nagasaki, a relief zone was drawn up. People who were within the zone at the time of the atomic bombings are treated as A-bomb survivors, or hibakusha, and are entitled to co-payment exemptions and benefit payments. However, those who experienced black rain outside the zone are not issued A-bomb survivor’s certificates and are only subsidized for certain illnesses including mental disorders.

In the case of Hiroshima, the Japanese government accepted a 2021 Hiroshima High Court ruling that recognized the health hazards of post-A-bomb black rain, and made those exposed to the nuclear fallout outside the relief zone eligible for public assistance.

However, the government did not apply similar measures to Nagasaki on the grounds that “there are no objective records of rainfall” in the city in the wake of the bombing.

In the latest ruling, the Nagasaki District Court focused on a survey conducted by the Nagasaki Municipal Government and others from 1999 that obtained numerous testimonies on rainfall in areas east and northeast of the hypocenter. At the time of the bombing, southwesterly winds were blowing in the region.

Also taking U.S. military reports and Japanese government soil survey results into account, the court recognized 15 of the plaintiffs who were within the post-bombing black rain area as hibakusha.

The court criticized the government for treating Nagasaki differently from Hiroshima in its steps. It pointed out that not granting A-bomb survivors’ certificates to Nagasaki victims in spite of the fact they went through similar circumstances to survivors in Hiroshima was unreasonable.

People who were exposed to the nuclear fallout in the aftermath of the Nagasaki bombing had in the past brought cases to court demanding relief, yet they lost the cases in a decision finalized by the Supreme Court. The Hiroshima court verdict recognizing black rain’s health damage and the central government’s action in response to it has apparently turned the tide.

In the latest court decision, however, only plaintiffs who were in areas on the leeward of the hypocenter were recognized as A-bomb survivors, meaning that public relief is being provided to just a portion of the complainants.

The relief zone in Nagasaki, to begin with, was set based on administrative districts. It is unreasonable to base differences in the support for victims on mechanically drawn boundaries.

On Aug. 9 this year, the 79th anniversary of the Nagasaki atomic bombing, Prime Minister Fumio Kishida met people who experienced the atomic bombing in the city but had not yet been officially recognized as hibakusha, becoming the first Japanese prime minister to do so. Kishida instructed health minister Keizo Takemi to coordinate concreate measures to work out a solution to the issue.

A-bomb survivors are aging. It is politicians’ responsibility to quickly act to provide victims with broader relief by taking the most recent ruling seriously.