IALANA board member Toshinori Yamada and IALANA co-president Daniel Rietiker attended a conference on the abolition of nuclear weapons in South Korea this summer. The conference was organized by SPARK (Solidarity for Peace and Reunification of Korea).
Please find below the presentations of Toshinori Yamada as well as the discussion paper of Daniel Rietiker.
Link to the conference report (Korean): http://www.spark946.org/party/non_nuclear?tpf=board/view&board_code=4&code=27129
The following is some examples of national court cases that JALANA supports:
① No More Hibakusha Lawsuits (A-Bomb Illness Certification Lawsuits) – The A-Bomb survivors are fighting court cases against Japanese government maintaining a practice of administration on assistance for A-Bomb survivors very limitedly. The Supreme Court recently made an unjust judgment that upheld the government’s practice.
② “Black Rain” Lawsuit – 84 plaintiffs, who were outside the target area for state assistance but suffered health damage owing to the “black rain” containing radioactive substances that fell immediately after the atomic bombing, filed a lawsuit against the government, Hiroshima Prefecture, and Hiroshima City, demanding issuance of A-Bomb Survivor Health Handbooks. On July 29, 2020, Hiroshima District Court ruled in favour of all plaintiffs, but the defendants appealed.
On July 14th, 2021, Hiroshima High Court upheld the District Court’s ruling that recognized the plaintiffs as hibakusha, and further expanded the “black rain area.” On July 26th, 2021, Japan’s then Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga said that the government had decided not to file a final appeal. He said his administration would further examine the issue so that relief measures could be extended to others who were exposed to the radioactive rain.
For more information on the “Black Rain” Lawsuit read the newspaper articles in THE ASAHI SHIMBUN and Japan Times.
③ Bikini Occupational Accidents Lawsuit – Owing to the 1954 US hydrogen bomb tests, fishermen and crews on fishing boats and cargo ships operating around the Bikini Atoll were irradiated and developed diseases such as cancers. We support a lawsuit which they filed to claim certification of occupational accidents, payment of insurance, and national compensation for having lost their rights to claim it to the US by the US-Japan Agreement.
④ Fukushima Nuclear Disaster and Lifework Lawsuits – The accident of Fukushima Nuclear Power Plant that occurred on March 11, 2011, deprived many residents of their places to live and livelihood. Lawsuits are pending to hold accountable the electric power company (operator of the nuclear plant), who has failed to take measures to counter disasters even after being informed of possibility of tsunami and earthquakes, and the government, who did not play a role of regulation authority. So far three of four high court decisions recognized a responsibility of the electric power company and the government. All the four cases are now pending at the Supreme Court.
This text was originally published on http://www.hankaku-j.org/english/info/211220.html
Statement to welcome the entry into force of the Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons and pursue a “world without nuclear weapons and war”
The Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons (“the Treaty” hereinafter) has come into effect today.
The Treaty has been a long-time wish of the Hibakusha (A-Bomb survivors). People around the world including the Hibakusha, who seek peace and nuclear disarmament, have continued to stress that “human beings cannot coexist with nuclear weapons,” and their call finally has led the Treaty to take effect.
The entry into force of the Treaty prohibits its States Parties from developing, testing, possessing, transferring, using or threatening to use nuclear weapons, and it legally obligates them to abolish such weapons. And even in relation with non-State Parties, this entry into force advances illegalization of nuclear weapons under international customary law and their delegitimization.
The entry into force of the Treaty is a historical step toward a “world without nuclear weapons” while the world is going to arms buildup despite the global crisis of the COVID-19 pandemic. We welcome the entry into force of the Treaty from the bottom of our hearts.
This Treaty recognizes that: the only way to guarantee that nuclear weapons are never used again is their complete elimination; a legally binding prohibition of nuclear weapons constitutes an important contribution towards the achievement and maintenance of a world free of nuclear weapons; and it is a global public good of the highest order, serving both national and collective security interests. In addition, the Treaty considers that any use of nuclear weapons would be contrary to the principles and rules of international humanitarian law.
Although the Treaty does not directly or legally bind the nuclear weapons states which are not parties to it, it has a great influence on interpretation of the international humanitarian law concerning nuclear weapons use. Nuclear weapons states know this, and therefore they are hostile to the Treaty. The legal significance of the entry into force of the Treaty is never small in a way to realize a “world without nuclear weapons.”
In addition, Article 4 of the Treaty (Towards the total elimination of nuclear weapons) opens a way for nuclear weapons states to join the Treaty. Article 12 provides that “(e)ach State Party shall encourage States not party to this Treaty to sign, ratify, …the Treaty, with the goal of universal adherence of all States to the Treaty.” It seeks universalization of the Treaty.
However, the government of Japan, the only country to have suffered nuclear attacks in wartime, is not willing to sign or ratify the Treaty. The reason is that Japan bases its security on the extended nuclear deterrence relying on the US nuclear umbrella. Such an attitude of the Japanese government shows that they do not look straightly at the catastrophic humanitarian consequences resulting from nuclear
weapons use, which is by no means acceptable for the only country to have suffered atomic bombings in wartime. Nuclear deterrence cannot be a base for security, and the security of Japan should be pursued by joining the Treaty.
Japanese government should take the lead in signing and ratifying the Treaty.
We must not forget that the prohibition of nuclear weapons is not enough to abolish use of force using conventional weapons or realize a “world without nuclear weapons and war.” We need to universalize worldwide a thorough norm of non-military pacifism, in other words, renunciation of war, non-possession of armed forces, and denial of the right of belligerency provided in Article 9 of the Japanese constitution.
We strongly demand that states possessing or depending on nuclear weapons including Japan sign and ratify the Treaty at an early date.
Finally, we pledge to continue our efforts to realize a “world without nuclear weapons and war” at the earliest possible date through universalizing worldwide the norm of non-military pacifism of Article 9 of the Japanese constitution, trusting in the justice and faith of the peace-loving peoples of the world including the Hibakusha.
January 22, 2021
Kenichi Okubo, President,
Japan Association of Lawyers Against Nuclear Arms
April 1, 2019
Takeya Sassaki,
President, Japan Association of Lawyers Against Nuclear Arms (JALANA)
Japan Association of Lawyers Against Nuclear Arms (JALANA) hereby expresses its views on the Hanoi Summit between Donald Trump, the president of the United States, and Kim Jong Un, the chairman of the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea (DPRK) held on February 27 and 28 as follows:
Continue reading “JALANA Statement on the 2nd US-DPRK Summit”