PAST -- COMPENSATION -~ JAPAN HIROSHIMA AND NAGASAKT The events which led up to World War II, the dropping of Atomic bombs on Japan and those which prevailed after its conclusion, made for a set of circumstances which saw the people of Japan who were affected by the A-bomb, waiting for more than 10 years before any sort of compensation was given to them, Since Japan was fighting a war with the United States and other countries, and since the United States held sovereignty over Japan for more than ten years after the war, the matter of compensation was delayed. In terms of medical care, the people were treated by Japanese hospitals and by the Atomic Bomb Casualty Commission after the war. Since the country was in a process of rebuilding, direct compensation for the survivors of Hiroshima and Nagasaki was delayed for some time. However, in 1957, some time after United States military forces had left Japan, a national law was passed which provided certain kinds of compensation for certain classes of people who survived the bomb blast, or who were exposed to radiation. This law, which has been amended several times either by administrative directives or through other laws, provides a system of payments to A-bomb "sufferers". Some of these payments are made directly through the central government, and some of them to the prefectural governments which administer grants from the central government for this purpose. An excerpt from the Law No. 41 dated March 31, 1957 follows: bome rene ceeee Pe, tate wees nayeee . Save “og : OTE TE TR PS : eo . . . Foy rp eee Pn TEEPE6, PUTTY . Te EE Sear ete al wy owes st spec Dear Oe PAN 1% ee! * pe