6-2-3-4Legal Support for A-bomb Survivors

A-bomb survivors receiving Atomic Bomb Survivor’s Certificates on the first day they were issued at the Nino Branch of Hiroshima City Hall
June 3, 1957 Courtesy of The Chugoku Shimbun

A-bomb survivors and Hiroshima City worked together to request national government support for survivor medical fees. The result was the A-bomb Survivors Medical Care Law enacted in March 1957. With “A-bomb survivors” defined under the law, Atomic Bomb Survivor’s Certificates were issued, medical exams performed, and a system created to assign certain medical expenses to the national government. However, inadequacies in the law compelled A-bomb survivors to continue to press for more support.