This is basically a good presentation of the issue. I don’t agree, though, with the following paragraph:
“The ministry will not reconsider the results of victim recognition examinations made in the past. This is inevitable when taking into account the possibility that sending past relief measures back to square one would cause more confusion. Yet many of those victims may understandably harbor a sense of unfairness.”
I don’t think the ministry / Japanese government should be let off so easily. The reason they have made it difficult to get certified is to avoid paying the victims what they are due. The “confusion” we’ve seen so far is the result of this policy – something that the courts have belatedly confirmed. I think that giving victims the recognition they deserve would do more good that any “confusion” it might cause.
