What was done to compensate the victims of bombing of Hiroshima?

Answer 1

STATE COMPENSATION FOR ATOMIC BOMB VICTIMS Takeshi Itoh, Yamanashi University President and Delegate to the Japan Confederation of A-bomb and H-bomb Sufferers Organization ------------------------------------------------------------------------ On December 9th, the Diet passed the compensation bill, which came 38 years after A-bomb victims mounted efforts for its passage, and less than one month before 1995's fiftieth anniversary of the end of World War Two. But there is a great discrepancy between the bill's contents and victims' original demands. The principle of 'State compensation' was not spelled out, and was instead replaced by 'government responsibility,' a more ambiguous phrase. Acknowledgment of A-bomb damage The bombs dropped on Hiroshima and Nagasaki a half century ago produced a combination of intense heat, powerful winds, and radiation. As a result the natural and social environment of the area were totally destroyed. Peter Burchtt, who witnessed the aftermath of the Hiroshima bombing wrote, 'Hiroshima does not look like a bombed city. It looks as if a monster steamroller had passed over and squashed it out of existence.' The attack killed 210-thousand people instantly, and ruined the 'bodies, livelihoods, and souls' of survivors and their families for years to come. But when the war ended, the US and Japanese governments were both reluctant to acknowledge these facts. They instead underestimated the damage and failed to provide assistance to the victims. In 1980, a private advisory panel of the Health and Welfare Ministry recommended that all damage--apart from that directly linked to radiation exposure--should be regarded as general war damage. The victims, however, wanted the government to publicly acknowledge the true extent of A-bomb damage, and they wanted this as a precondition of State compensation. Clarify the State's Responsibility The victims are not responsible for this grave damage. It came from nuclear weapons in a government initiated war. The bombings were far more cruel and inhumane than conventional weapons, but the use of both types violated international law. When Japan signed the peace treaty it abandoned the right to claim compensation against the United States, and the victims were left to fend for themselves until medical assistance legislation was implemented in 1957. In their demand for 'State compensation' the victims were seeking clarification of the government's responsibility. Mistakes in 'Post-War Compensation' Japan made a serious mistake in its handling of the compensation issue after the war. Ranking military and civil officials, who had the greatest degree of involvement in the war, should have been held most responsible. Drafted servicemen and low ranking soldiers should have come next, followed by Japanese civilians, and then Japanese nationals in the former colonies. But this apportionment of responsibility was shunted aside in favor of the slogan '100-million Japanese in Repentance.' After the peace treaty was signed, compensation was first paid to military officers, then to low ranking soldiers and civilian military employees. Japanese civilians at home and in the former colonies were left on the sidelines. Toward a Nuclear and War Free World The demand of 'State compensation' is aimed at rectifying this situation by urging the government to acknowledge its responsibility to civilian victims in Japan and the former colonies. The campaign also calls on the government to affirm that human beings and nuclear weapons cannot co-exist. The goal is to create a world completely free of nuclear weapons and war.

Answer 2

STATE COMPENSATION FOR ATOMIC BOMB VICTIMS Takeshi Itoh, Yamanashi University President and Delegate to the Japan Confederation of A-bomb and H-bomb Sufferers Organization ------------------------------------------------------------------------ On December 9th, the Diet passed the compensation bill, which came 38 years after A-bomb victims mounted efforts for its passage, and less than one month before 1995's fiftieth anniversary of the end of World War Two. But there is a great discrepancy between the bill's contents and victims' original demands. The principle of 'State compensation' was not spelled out, and was instead replaced by 'government responsibility,' a more ambiguous phrase. Acknowledgment of A-bomb damage The bombs dropped on Hiroshima and Nagasaki a half century ago produced a combination of intense heat, powerful winds, and radiation. As a result the natural and social environment of the area were totally destroyed. Peter Burchtt, who witnessed the aftermath of the Hiroshima bombing wrote, 'Hiroshima does not look like a bombed city. It looks as if a monster steamroller had passed over and squashed it out of existence.' The attack killed 210-thousand people instantly, and ruined the 'bodies, livelihoods, and souls' of survivors and their families for years to come. But when the war ended, the US and Japanese governments were both reluctant to acknowledge these facts. They instead underestimated the damage and failed to provide assistance to the victims. In 1980, a private advisory panel of the Health and Welfare Ministry recommended that all damage--apart from that directly linked to radiation exposure--should be regarded as general war damage. The victims, however, wanted the government to publicly acknowledge the true extent of A-bomb damage, and they wanted this as a precondition of State compensation. Clarify the State's Responsibility The victims are not responsible for this grave damage. It came from nuclear weapons in a government initiated war. The bombings were far more cruel and inhumane than conventional weapons, but the use of both types violated international law. When Japan signed the peace treaty it abandoned the right to claim compensation against the United States, and the victims were left to fend for themselves until medical assistance legislation was implemented in 1957. In their demand for 'State compensation' the victims were seeking clarification of the government's responsibility. Mistakes in 'Post-War Compensation' Japan made a serious mistake in its handling of the compensation issue after the war. Ranking military and civil officials, who had the greatest degree of involvement in the war, should have been held most responsible. Drafted servicemen and low ranking soldiers should have come next, followed by Japanese civilians, and then Japanese nationals in the former colonies. But this apportionment of responsibility was shunted aside in favor of the slogan '100-million Japanese in Repentance.' After the peace treaty was signed, compensation was first paid to military officers, then to low ranking soldiers and civilian military employees. Japanese civilians at home and in the former colonies were left on the sidelines. Toward a Nuclear and War Free World The demand of 'State compensation' is aimed at rectifying this situation by urging the government to acknowledge its responsibility to civilian victims in Japan and the former colonies. The campaign also calls on the government to affirm that human beings and nuclear weapons cannot co-exist. The goal is to create a world completely free of nuclear weapons and war.