NAGASAKI (Kyodo) The Nagasaki District Court on Tuesday ruled in favor of a man previously denied official designation as an atomic bomb survivor, finding that he entered Nagasaki the day the bomb was dropped.
Acting on a suit filed by Isamu Nakashima, 75, a resident of Nagasaki, the three-judge panel repealed the city's decision not to designate him a hibakusha.
People officially designated as hibakusha are eligible for a reduction in medical costs and given medical allowances.
Presiding Judge Keiji Suda found that Nakashima was exposed to radiation, accepting his argument that he arrived in Nagasaki by ship on Aug. 9, 1945.
"The plaintiff's testimony corresponds to witness accounts and is highly credible," Suda said.
Nakashima had argued that he was exposed to radiation in a "ryokan" inn near Nagasaki port after returning to Japan from abroad that day.
He applied for the city's official designation as a hibakusha in 2005. The municipal government turned down the application, saying official documents put Nakashima's return date at Aug. 12, three days after the atomic bombing.
