En de winner is?

[Cees Binkhorst]

REPLY TO: D66 at nic.surfnet.nl

http://www.irishtimes.com/newspaper/world/2009/0325/1224243366872.html

Man (93) survived both US A-bombs    Wednesday, March 25, 2009

A Japanese man has become the first person certified as a survivor of both
US atomic bombings at the end of the second World War.

Tsutomu Yamaguchi (93) had already been a certified hibakusha (radiation
survivor) of the August 9th, 1945, atomic bombing in Nagasaki, but has now
been confirmed as surviving the attack on Hiroshima three days earlier as
well, city officials said yesterday.

Mr Yamaguchi was in Hiroshima on a business trip on August 6th, 1945, when
a US B-29 dropped an atomic bomb on the city. He suffered serious burns to
his upper body and spent the night in the city. He then returned to his
hometown of Nagasaki just in time for the second attack.

“As far as we know, he is the first one to be officially recognised as a
survivor of atomic bombings in both Hiroshima and Nagasaki,” Nagasaki city
official Toshiro Miyamoto said. “It’s such an unfortunate case, but it is
possible that there are more people like him.”

Certification qualifies survivors for government compensation – including
monthly allowances, free medical check-ups and funeral costs – but Mr
Yamaguchi’s compensation will not increase, Mr Miyamoto said.

But Mr Yamaguchi is satisfied that his record is now a historical fact.
“My double radiation exposure is now an official government record. It can
tell the younger generation the horrifying history of the atomic bombings
even after I die,” Mr Yamaguchi was quoted as saying in the Mainichi
newspaper.

Japan is the only country to have suffered atomic bomb attacks. About
140,000 people were killed in Hiroshima and 70,000 in Nagasaki.

Mr Yamaguchi is one of about 260,000 people who survived the attacks. The
bombing survivors have developed various illnesses from radiation
exposure, including cancer and liver illnesses.

Details of Mr Yamaguchi’s health problems were not released.

Thousands of survivors continue to seek official recognition after the
Japanese government rejected their eligibility for compensation.

The government last year eased the requirements for being certified as a
survivor, following criticism that the rules were too strict and neglected
many who had developed illnesses that doctors have linked to radiation. –
(AP)

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