Japanese court recognises ‘black rain’ victims of Hiroshima atomic bomb

Nearly 75 years after the atomic bomb was dropped on Hiroshima, a Japanese court has ordered that 84 people who were exposed to radioactive “black rain” be made eligible for the same medical benefits as other survivors of the attack.

The plaintiffs, the youngest of whom is in their late 70s, were exposed to radioactive rain immediately after the “Little Boy” uranium bomb exploded above the city on August 6, 1945, but were excluded from financial support for medical treatment because they were just outside the zone set by the government in 1976 for victims of the attack.

For a few hours after the attack, rain that fell in the city and surrounding areas was black due to debris from the 15 kiloton blast and contaminated with fallout.

The plaintiffs argued in court that they developed a range of illnesses, including different types of cancer and cataracts, as a result of their exposure to radiation and from food and water that had been contaminated. Ten of the people who originally filed the suit in 2015 died before Wednesday’s ruling.

They had previously applied to Hokkaido city and the prefectural government for financial support for their medical treatments, but were turned down on every occasion because they had been outside the 11.8 mile by 6.8 mile zone set by the government for victims. Anyone who was within that zone at the time of the explosion is able to obtain free health tests and treatment.

In a deposition submitted to the court, one plaintiff wrote, “Fragments of ‘tatami’ flooring and pens fell from the sky, and then the black rain came”. Another wrote that the rain left “black stains” on a shirt.

In another deposition to the court, another wrote, “The rain that fell on the other side of the river in front of my home was deemed to be radioactive by the government, but the rain that fell on my side was ruled to be just ordinary rain”.

An estimated 80,000 people died in the initial blast from the bomb and the firestorm that it triggered, while another 70,000 were injured. The vast majority of the victims were civilians. US military surveys shortly after the war determined that 4.7 square miles of the city had been destroyed.

Three days later, a plutonium bomb named “Fat Man” was dropped on Nagasaki, killing an estimated 80,000 people. Japan surrendered on August 15.