HIROSHIMA (Kyodo) Bruno Barrillot, a representative of the French nuclear arms watchdog agency, has suggested that a new French bill to compensate victims of nuclear tests could serve as a guide for Japan in pursuing more comprehensive relief measures for atomic bomb survivors.

"I think the criteria for recognizing atomic bomb survivors in Japan are quite narrow," said Barrillot, director of the Observatory of French Nuclear Weapons, an independent antinuclear group.

Barrillot said one of the criteria used in Japan requires in principle that victims were within a radius of 3.5 km from ground zero at the time of the bombings. He said, however, that a measure being considered in France would certify people who were approximately 400 km from the Mururoa atoll where nuclear tests were conducted.