national

Court rejects ex-fishermen's appeal over 1954 U.S. H-bomb tests

9 Comments

The requested article has expired, and is no longer available. Any related articles, and user comments are shown below.

© KYODO

©2024 GPlusMedia Inc.

9 Comments
Login to comment

Japan and the United States struck a deal in 1955 under which Washington paid $2 million for the injuries and damage sustained as a result of the hydrogen bomb tests without admitting liability. The payment was also agreed as a "full settlement" of any claims against the United States over the issue.

The country to the east of Japan should take a look at this and realize that it's an internal dispute they have with their own government and not the Japanese!

3 ( +6 / -3 )

Can file a lawsuit seeking damages against all the people filing lawsuits seeking damages?

-1 ( +0 / -1 )

@Yubaru

The country to the east of Japan should take a look at this and realize that it's an internal dispute they have with their own government and not the Japanese

The fishermen are Japanese and they are taking it up with their government.

-1 ( +2 / -3 )

Ladies and Gentlemen this is called slip sliding to avoid responsibility -

In July last year, the Kochi District Court acknowledged the plaintiffs were exposed to radiation in the tests

but denied the state's liability, saying it was impossible for the government to hide information about health damage from the tests because it was widely reported by the media at the time.

The lower court also said although the documents may have been handled in a sloppy manner by several government agencies in charge of the matter, the state did not intentionally conceal them.

The court also deemed the statute of limitations had expired given there was no conclusive evidence to indicate that the state persistently engaged in illegal activities.

0 ( +1 / -1 )

A little eery how this challenge by a civic group to get recompense, echoes that other case of Korean citizens challenging the govt.

In both cases the govts said the case was settled once and for all (full settlement) by a deal with the other govt party.

And in both cases the plaintiffs were denied the representation they wanted and in effect not listened to.

Rarely do citizens escape being ridden roughshod by govts, esp when it deals with military actions.

4 ( +4 / -0 )

The court also deemed the statute of limitations had expired given there was no conclusive evidence to indicate that the state persistently engaged in illegal activities.

So the state withheld crucial evidence through sloppy handling which most probably could have assisted the claimants during the Statute of Limitations. Now the evidence has been released and they can proceed . . . . they're out of time.

These guys are getting no justice.

On a related note, it is amazing how many 'mishandled' documents come to light. just after their usefulness diminishes. Just look at this comfort women article with new information which was just released by the government https://japantoday.com/category/politics/Historical-documents-show-Japanese-gov%27t-role-in-providing-sex-slaves

0 ( +0 / -0 )

The fishermen are Japanese and they are taking it up with their government.

Reread what I wrote, and then maybe you will understand!

3 ( +3 / -0 )

Reread what I wrote, and then maybe you will understand!

Maybe if you wrote the country to the west of Japan, rather than east, it would be easier to understand. The country to the east of Japan is the USA.

If you are speaking of Korea, I agree. But this reminded me that Korea's deal with Japan was still concluded while Korea was recovering from its war. Similarly to this case. When the country is trying to recover from mass deaths and total infrastructure destruction to redevelop civilization from scratch, it's easy to see how individual victims would be overlooked. Which is why wise countries choose to move forward after a war, rather than obsessing over the past. Though the war was officially over, these fishermen were victims of the war, not so different from the many Japanese who were victims of bombs 9 years earlier.

-1 ( +1 / -2 )

get in line with Minamata victims...

0 ( +0 / -0 )

Login to leave a comment

Facebook users

Use your Facebook account to login or register with JapanToday. By doing so, you will also receive an email inviting you to receive our news alerts.

Facebook Connect

Login with your JapanToday account

User registration

Articles, Offers & Useful Resources

A mix of what's trending on our other sites