Overseas Hibakusha Case
| SCOJ 2005 No. 1977 (平成17(受)1977) | |
|---|---|
| Court | Supreme Court of Japan (First Petty Bench) |
| Full case name | Overseas Hibakusha Case |
| Decided | November 11, 2007 |
| Reported at | Minshu Vol. 61, No. 8 |
| Holding | |
| A government official erroneously interpreted Japanese laws in denying payment of healthcare benefits to survivors of the atomic bombings (Hibakusha) who resided outside Japan. The official's misinterpretation of the law and subsequent denial of benefits constituted negligence. | |
| Court membership | |
| Chief Justice | Norio Wakui (涌井紀夫) |
| Associate Justice | Tatsuo Kainaka (甲斐中辰夫), Tokuji Izumi (泉徳治), Chiharu Saiguchi (才口千晴) |
| Case opinions | |
| Majority | by Wakui, joined by Izumi and Saiguchi |
| Dissent | by Kainaka |
| Laws applied | |
| Article 1, para.1 of the Act on State Liability for Compensation; Article 2 and Article 3 of the Act on Medical Care for Atomic Bomb Survivors; Article 5 of the Act on Special Measures for Atomic Bomb Survivors; and Article 1, Article 2, and Article 27 of the Act on Relief for Atomic Bomb Survivors. | |
The Overseas Hibakusha Case, SCOJ 2005 No. 1977, was a landmark case of the Supreme Court of Japan. The Court found that the government's refusal to provide health-care benefits to hibakusha living abroad was illegal. The plaintiffs were 40 South Koreans who were exposed to radiation in the 1945 U.S. atomic bombing of Hiroshima. It was the first time the Court declared a government order illegal and upheld a ruling mandating the payment of damages.