Asia-Pacific News
Japan's high court rules against compensating Korean A-bomb victim
Jan 22, 2007, 7:30 GMT
Tokyo - The Fukuoka High Court in southern Japan on Monday overturned a lower court's ruling that ordered the Nagasaki city government to pay compensation to the relatives of Choi Gye Chol, a South Korean A-bomb victim, media reports said.
Choi, who died at 78 in 2004, had demanded 9.6 million yen (79,217 dollars) in benefits from the state and local governments.
The Nagasaki District Court ordered the city government in December 2005 to pay Choi about 820,000 yen as past benefits from 1980 to 1983.
The deceased plaintiff was visiting Nagasaki when it was bombed in August 1945 during World War II and returned to South Korea after the war. The Japanese government granted him eligibility for benefits in 1980 under the Atomic Bomb Victims Relief Law, when he revisited Japan.
But the Nagasaki city government suspended Choi's payment after a month because the state stipulated in 1974 that the victims had to live in Japan to receive compensation, according to the Kyodo News Agency. Choi returned to South Korea in 1980.
© 2007 dpa - Deutsche Presse-AgenturCOMMENT
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