International Meeting
2024 World Conference against A and H Bombs
Session 1
Takatoh Seiji
General Secretary, Association to Support the A-Bomb Black Rain Victims/
Plaintiff in Class Action Lawsuit
Black Rain sufferers call for entitlement to Hibakusha Certificate
On that morning of August 6, I was alone in the living room looking at a picture book. I was four and half years old. My home was about 10 kilometers to the west from the blast center.
I was struck by a blinding flash of light coming into the house. I had never seen such an intense flash. It was followed by a boom sound causing vibrations that made the things on the shelves fall. The sliding paper doors also fell down. I jumped out of the house crying in tears.
My mother was hanging the washing out to dry as if nothing had happened. She told me to take a look at the sky and we together watched the sky over the city of Hiroshima. I had a square field of view like a movie screen, which changed the color in turn from red to blue and then to yellow. It got dark around us. Dust, litter and ashes were drifting in the air. Burned paper and shingles of the roof came off. Large drops of rain began to fall. But I don’t remember getting wet from the rain. I was probably taking shelter from the rain under the eaves. During an examination of witness, the defense lawyer asked me if I didn’t get wet from the rain, or if I didn’t get caught in the rain. I said that whether I got wet from the black rain is not a determining factor. I strongly insisted that the point was whether I was in the condition that allowed radioactive particles to infiltrate into my body. I thought that internal exposure to radiation is also an important matter to the nuclear accident in Fukushima.
I was physically weak when I was first and second grader in elementary school. I often had boils on my feet and hands and could not attend class sometimes when it got painful. When I was a third grader, I had swollen lymph glands on groin and armpit and had them removed by surgery three times. My health condition improved when I was in fourth grade and I could then enjoy school life. After studying at junior high as well as senior high school and college in my hometown, I became a high school teacher of biology. As I was in good shape I forgot that I was an A-bomb survivor. At age 79, I was diagnosed as having cerebral infarction and an arrythmia. My doctor said that these heart problems have probably been caused by exposure to radiation from the A-bombing. This is how I was reminded that I am a hibakusha.
Twenty-five years ago, Ogawa Yasuko, my classmate from high school days said that there were in the neighborhood a number of people who were bed-ridden, doing nothing. She asked me to join her in paying visits. We visited one of them one day. We said “hello” at the entrance but there was no response. We entered the house to find a man lying in a room. I said, “What’s the matter with you? Did you go to see a doctor?” The man said, “I can’t afford to do so!” He appeared to be trying to live without causing trouble to others and without using money until the last moment of his life.
Next year, in 2002, we launched a group, “Saeki Ward Black Rain Association” with Ogawa Yasuko as president and me as secretary. We began to grope our way to get the perimeters of “Black Rain zone” expanded. We interviewed Black Rain victims and discussed the matter with the city official in charge. We reported these activities in the association’s bulletin. We petitioned the city with signatures we collected demanding a larger “Black Rain zone” be designated. The Hiroshima City Assembly and the Hiroshima Prefectural Assembly both approved the petition and decided that they would make positive efforts to realize the expansion.
Hiroshima City and Hiroshima Prefecture conducted a survey on 30,000 residents and interviewed 1,000 people. They drew up a “Black Rain zone” map, which showed that the actual black rain area was six times larger than the present state-designated area. The association used the findings of health awareness survey concerning atomic-bombing experiences to petition the central government for the designation of a larger Black Rain area. In December 2011, the government set up a panel to examine the issue of Black Rain area. After nine meetings, the panel in July 2012 came up with a conclusion. It failed to take into account the Hiroshima City’s report on the details of radiation exposure from the atomic bombing and turned down the proposal of expanding the black rain zone. We all thought then that we had no choice but to take the case to court.
I feared that the state intended to bury the fact about the Black Rain despite that so many people had suffered and died. We decided to let as many people as possible know about the damage and aftereffects of the atomic bombing. We did everything we could to sell the booklet “Black Rain — Internal Exposure to Radiation Denounced” to disseminate the problem of Black Rain.
On July 14, 2021, the Hiroshima High Court upheld the plaintiffs’ demand, rejecting the government’s appeal against the district court ruling. It was an epoch-making victory for us. All 84 plaintiffs were recognized as Hibakusha and received the A-Bomb Victims’ certificate. The then Prime Minister, Suga Yoshihide, issued an unofficial statement saying that “Anyone that is in the same condition as these plaintiffs would be entitled to recognition as A-bomb survivors.” In various cities, we answered questions about the Black Rain and gave advice on how to fill out an application form. The current biggest problem for us is the difficulty for contacting people who might be in the same situation as the plaintiffs regarding recognition as Hibakusha. We cannot inform them when we organize counseling sessions in different places.
As of the end of June 2024, 6,748 people applied for recognition as A-bomb survivors, 6040 people won recognition, 312 people were rejected, 33 people withdrew their application, and 363 cases are being examined.
Reasons for rejection vary, including “the applicants” residence was out of the zone where the rain fell,”it is not clear whether the applicant got wet from the rain,” and some details are missing in the application. Those people whose applications were turned down are now preparing to file a second “Black Rain” lawsuit. There are 46 plaintiffs.
Although the Hiroshima High Court ruling said the “plaintiffs are defined as people who were in circumstances that might expose their bodies to the effects of the atomic bombing”, there are people whose applications were rejected on the grounds that their residence was outside the area where the rain actually fell. Even though these applicants gave details of the Black Rain areas, their applications were turned down on the ground that there is no witness. The state continues to refuse to acknowledge the effects of internal exposure to radiation. It does not observe the high court decision either.
At a time when people”s lives are at risk due to radiation pollution, the state is ignoring the fact of internal exposure to radiation, trying to minimize the damage. Such injustice must not be overlooked. Let us make every effort to get nuclear weapons abolished.
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