Children observe lanterns placed to remember the victims of the United States atomic bomb attack on the city of Nagasaki, which caused thousands of victims, which led to the surrender of Japan and ended World War II, in Nagasaki, Japan, on August 8, 2010, the eve of the 65th anniversary of this attack. EFE-EPA FILE/Kimimasa Mayama

Japan court rejects aid claim of children of Nagasaki survivors

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Tokyo, Dec 12 (EFE).- A Japanese court on Monday rejected a lawsuit filed by children of Nagasaki atomic bomb survivors who were seeking government financial support for their health.

The plaintiffs claimed their parents’ exposure to radiation from the 1945 bombing had affected their health, but the Nagasaki District Court judges said that genetic influence of radiation could not be determined.

“It can only be said that we cannot deny the possibility of a hereditary influence of atomic bomb radiation exposure,” the court said, according to Kyodo news agency.

The plaintiffs cited medical research that pointed to possible hereditary effects of radiation

The plaintiffs maintained throughout the proceedings that it was unfair for them to be excluded from government aid, citing medical research that pointed to possible hereditary effects of radiation.

The 28 plaintiffs had sought 100,000 yen ($730) per person.

This was the first ruling in Japan on such a claim by descendants of atomic bomb survivors, and another similar case is pending in a Hiroshima court.

The government currently offers various financial support schemes to people officially recognized as survivors of the bombings in Nagasaki and Hiroshima, including full coverage of their medical expenses, but this is not extended to their children.

There are currently some 118,935 living survivors, at an average age of 84.5 years, according to official data from August. EFE

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