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High court rejects damages claim by leprosy victim's son

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From my point of view, the worst problem of Japan is the non-functioning Judiciary .

This problem of a non-functional Judiiary in Japan was highlighted in a book called "The Enigma of Japanese Power" (karl Van Wolferen) published In the late 80's.

It seems thar nothing has changed in 30 years.

1 ( +1 / -0 )

From my point of view, the worst problem of Japan is the non-functioning Judiciary .

The Judiciary in Japan does have independency from other branches of the government, but the culture inside the Judiciary is such that they almost always side with the central government on any problem, and instead of trying to interpret the law from an unbiased objective way, at times it almost seems that they are just trying to interpret the law so that they can justify the actions of the central government.

And in the rare cases where they agree that the central government is in the wrong, they do nothing more than "warn" the government to "fix the problem", and those warnings are almost always ignored.

A non functioning Judiciary means that the central government has no requirement to abide by any law, and allows for example, the creation of unconstitutional regulations meant to help some well connected business and persons, and there is no real recourse to fight against these abuses.

The non-functioning Judiciary, from my point of view, is the main reason why Japan takes so long to implement any real change to the laws.

1 ( +3 / -2 )

Judges in Japan seem to have little idea regarding compensation awards. They seem to have even less clue about what constitutes descrimination.

-2 ( +1 / -3 )

the district court rejected the plaintiff's damages claim, saying he did not know about his mother's illness until she died

If even the son did not know about his mother's illness how can he claim to be a victim of discrimination? How on earth could potential employers know about his mother's illness and discriminate against him? What other discrimination did he supposedly face? No details are given in the article.

It sounds like someone who thinks the world owes him a living is trying to help himself to my taxes and I'm happy he failed.

5 ( +7 / -2 )

He's just trying to take a ride on the gravy train

3 ( +7 / -4 )

You suffered no discrimination or financial damages...Strike 1!

You didn't even know your mother had leprosy until she died...Strike 2!

The statute of limitations had already expired...Strike 3! You're out!

3 ( +7 / -4 )

Shocked, as simple as that. How much money does Abe govt have to spend on this ? Not a lot. Do a human thing if you are a human govt.

-3 ( +2 / -5 )

Isolating sufferers of leprosy was common practice for hundreds of years before sufficient antibiotics were developed early last century. The fact this guy's mother did not go into isolation most likely contributed to the spread of the disease.

Leprosy was wiped out in most countries by the 1930's. Having people Japan contracting the disease in the 1950"s shows Japan was very slow to wipe out this disease and there are still people in Japan with leprosy.

5 ( +6 / -1 )

A sad and shocking story but the verdict, from a Hiroshima Prefecture high court, no less, is a disgrace.

Whether it be Hibakusha and their families, Minamata sufferers, Hansen sufferers, Fukushima refugees or any other victims of unfortunate circumstances, Govts & Society exercise their bigotry by turning against them.

Given the appalling discrimination faced by the Hibakusha in their own country, one might expect a court in Hiroshima to have sympathy for other victims, in this case Hansen sufferers. Sadly, not. Blaming the victims and then discriminating against them seems to be a cornerstone of government and society in Japan.

-2 ( +6 / -8 )

Maria - right on.

By what means of determination does the judiciary deign someone worthy of compensation.

And as Maria indicated - modern history in Japan is littered with direct / indirect discrimination against the ill, infirmed, unfortunate, disabled or in fact those who are percieved to be different. Othering!!!

Whether it be Hibakusha and their families, Minamata sufferers, Hansen sufferers, Fukushima refugees or any other victims of unfortunate circumstances, Govts & Society exercise their bigotry by turning against them.

The Hansen sufferers fate has been particularly deplorable for a Modern Democracy.

0 ( +6 / -6 )

...prejudice against victims of the WW2 atomic bombs and against their descendants; against survivors of the Fukushima nuclear catastrophe who, when forced to live, work, and study elsewhere, were faced with personal attacks. Children were bullied and harassed...

How do the judges for cases like these determine whether, how and to what degree, relatives' lives are negatively affected, resulting in less money, fewer opportunities for education, work advancement and personal success and happiness?

5 ( +10 / -5 )

Can't understand discriminating the unfortunate. Must be a japanese thing.

Unfortunately, it's a human thing.

7 ( +11 / -4 )

Can't understand discriminating the unfortunate. Must be a japanese thing.

-4 ( +7 / -11 )

Denying that children face discrimination and ill-treatment because of their parents?

Not at all. Just commenting on this particular case after reading the article in detail. Seems fair to me. Justice my not always need to appear to be done when lots of money is doled out.

-4 ( +7 / -11 )

Denying that children face discrimination and ill-treatment because of their parents? The high court is filled with liars and fools. It is well-known how descendants of certain groups of people have been discriminated against over the decades, if not centuries - the caste system, post-caste system 'burakumin', Korean-Japanese, children of criminals, and of those who died by suicide... how can anyone deny it?

9 ( +16 / -7 )

Good

-5 ( +6 / -11 )

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