The government's refusal to provide health-care benefits to hibakusha living abroad is illegal, the Supreme Court ruled Thursday in a landmark decision.

The ruling finalizes the government's obligation to pay compensation to atomic-bomb survivors overseas. It is the first time the top court has declared a government order illegal and upheld a ruling mandating the payment of damages.

The Supreme Court's First Petty Bench turned down the government's appeal and upheld a 2005 high court decision that ordered it to pay a combined ¥48 million in damages to 40 South Koreans who were exposed to radiation in the 1945 U.S. atomic bombing of Hiroshima. The Koreans were exposed while being forced to work as conscripts during the war.