Relatives enter the Fukuoka High Court on Sept. 26 holding a photo of Choi Gye-chol.

The suit was filed in February 2004 by Choi Gye-chol, a South Korean who survived the Aug. 9, 1945, U.S. atomic bombing of Nagasaki and later returned to South Korea. Choi died in July 2004.

The ruling was the first by a high court on such a lawsuit. Hours later, Chief Cabinet Secretary Hiroyuki Hosoda said that the government would initiate steps to revise the current system in line with the ruling, while the Nagasaki Municipal Government said it would not appeal to the Supreme Court.

Under the current system, hibakusha must come to Japan in person to submit the necessary documents to receive the benefits. However, with 60 years having passed since the atomic bombings, many survivors are too old or too ill to make the trip.

According to the Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare, about 3,660 people officially recognized as hibakusha are living overseas. Of them, about 2,420 are in South Korea, 850 in the United States and 140 in Brazil.

The Japan Times Weekly: Oct. 1, 2005
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