Plaintiffs and lawyers have decided not to appeal recent rulings in the Osaka and Sendai high courts that recognized 11 plaintiffs as sufferers of A-bomb diseases, it has emerged.

The government has also decided against appealing, meaning the rulings will be the first in a series of similar lawsuits to become fixed.

While the high court rulings accepted that the 11 plaintiffs should be recognized as sufferers of atomic bomb diseases, the courts rejected their claim for compensation.

Since the plaintiffs' request for revision of the standards for recognizing people as A-bomb disease suffers has not materialized, they had considered filing appeals to the Supreme Court to continue their campaign. However, plaintiffs and lawyers took into consideration the aging of the A-bomb sufferers and the fact that the purpose of the lawsuits was not to gain compensation.

"The early fixing of the rulings is a message from plaintiffs that they are seeking a quick resolution of the group lawsuits on the earliest possible date, a lawyer for the group said.

While the government waits for rulings in the remaining lawsuits, the plaintiffs are seeking recognition for all of them through a political initiative, but it is unclear when a resolution of the issue will be seen.

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