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Lawyers file suits seeking annulment of general election

OKAYAMA, Japan - A group of lawyers heads for the Okayama branch of the Hiroshima High Court in the western Japan city of Okayama on Dec. 15, 2014, to file a lawsuit, seeking the annulment of the previous day's general election, which was held without correcting the vote-value disparity.

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Top court rejects hospital's demotion of pregnant worker

TOKYO, Japan - Nami Shimonaka, a lawyer who represents a physical therapist filing a damages suit against a hospital for her demotion due to pregnancy, speaks at a news conference in Hiroshima on Oct. 23, 2014, after the Supreme Court's decision in favor of the therapist. The top court rejected a high court ruling that the hospital was within its rights to demote the therapist who sought a lighter workload due to her pregnancy.

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Mazda settles employment suit

HIROSHIMA, Japan - Lawyers for 15 former temporary employees of Mazda Motor Corp. smile during a press conference in Hiroshima, western Japan, on July 22, 2014, after the automaker and the plaintiffs reached a settlement in the Hiroshima High Court in a lawsuit over Mazda's practice of denying workers regular employee status after long services as temp staff. The 15 former temp workers will each receive an undisclosed sum from Mazda, but will not return to the car company.

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High court's ruling on upper house polls

HIROSHIMA, Japan - Photo taken Dec. 5, 2013, shows a courtroom of the Hiroshima High Court in the city of Hiroshima, where the court ruled the same day the disparity in the weight of votes in July's House of Councillors election was "in a state of unconstitutionality," while dismissing the plaintiffs' demand that the electoral results in two western Japan constituencies -- Hiroshima and Yamaguchi prefectures -- be nullified. (Pool photo)

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Court voids poll in western Japan constituency

OKAYAMA, Japan - Lawyers smile outside the Okayama branch of the Hiroshima High Court on Nov. 28, 2013, after the court ruled that the result in the Okayama constituency in July's House of Councillors election should be invalidated due to an unconstitutional disparity in the weight of votes. The decision is the first ruling among 14 similar lawsuits filed with high courts across Japan by groups of lawyers, who have argued the disparity up to 4.77-fold in the July 21 upper house election is against the equal-protection clause under the Constitution.

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Vote disparity in upper house election

HIROSHIMA, Japan - A group of lawyers hold a press conference in the city of Hiroshima on July 22, 2013, after bringing a case to the Hiroshima High Court seeking to invalidate the result for the Hiroshima prefectural district in the previous day's House of Councillors election due to the uncorrected disparity in the weight of votes among constituencies.

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Court rules Dec. election invalid over vote disparity

HIROSHIMA, Japan - Tetsuya Kanao, one of the lawyers who filed a lawsuit claiming the general election held in December 2012 was invalid due to significant disparities in the weight of votes, holds a press conference in Hiroshima on March 25, 2013, after the local high court ruled in favor of the plaintiffs. The Hiroshima High Court ruled the same day that the results of the election in Hiroshima's No. 1 and 2 districts were invalid, becoming the first court in Japan to declare an election result void amid a series of lawsuits over disparities in the weight of votes.

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Election ruled invalid

HIROSHIMA, Japan - Photo shows the Hiroshima High Court in western Japan on March 25, 2013, which ruled the results of the December 2012 general election in Hiroshima's No. 1 and 2 districts were invalid due to significant disparities in the weight of votes.

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Court rules election in 'state of unconstitutionality'

MATSUE, Japan - Plaintiffs and lawyers contesting the disparity in the weight of votes in the July 2009 House of Councillors election head to the Matsue branch of the Hiroshima High Court on Jan. 26, 2011, carrying signs reading ''0.8 vote is wrong.'' The court ruled the same day that the fivefold disparity in the weight of votes in the election was in a ''state of unconstitutionality.''

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High court slashes damages owed by Osaka governor over 2007 remarks

OSAKA, Japan - Osaka Gov. Toru Hashimoto answers questions from reporters in Osaka on July 2 after the Hiroshima High Court more than halved to 3.6 million yen the compensation owed by Hashimoto to four lawyers over remarks he made in 2007 about their tactics in defending a man convicted of murder.

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Gov't not to appeal A-bomb suit loss at Tokyo High Court

TOKYO, Japan - Health, Labor and Welfare Minister Yoichi Masuzoe (L) met with representatives of plaintiffs suing the state to seek certification as sufferers from atomic bomb-related illnesses at the Diet building in Tokyo on June 9. Earlier in the day, Masuzoe said the government will not appeal a Tokyo High Court ruling ordering the state to certify 29 of 30 plaintiffs as suffering from illness caused by radiation from the atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki in 1945. (Pool photo)

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Gov't not to appeal A-bomb lawsuit loss at Tokyo High Court

TOKYO, Japan - Health, Labor and Welfare Minister Yoichi Masuzoe speaks to reporters at the parliament building in Tokyo on June 9 about the government decision not to appeal a Tokyo High Court ruling ordering the state to certify 29 of 30 plaintiffs as suffering from illness caused by radiation from the 1945 atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki.

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State again loses suit for not certifying A-bomb sufferers

TOKYO, Japan - Supporters of plaintiffs who filed a lawsuit against the state over certification of atomic-bomb sufferers celebrate in front of the Tokyo High Court in Tokyo on May 28. The court ruled that the state should certify 29 of 30 plaintiffs as suffering from illnesses caused by radiation from the 1945 atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki, scrapping a lower court ruling that recognized just 21.

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Gov't not to appeal high court rulings on A-bomb sufferers

TOKYO, Japan - Health, Labor and Welfare Minister Yoichi Masuzoe speaks to reporters at the Diet building in Tokyo on June 10. He said the government has decided not to appeal two high court rulings that backed A-bomb survivors seeking government recognition of their radiation-related illnesses stemming from the 1945 U.S. atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki

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High court certifies 9 as A-bomb illness sufferers

OSAKA, Japan - Plaintiffs rejoice at a press conference after the Osaka High Court on May 30 certified nine people as sufferers of illnesses from radiation as a result of the 1945 U.S. atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki. The court declared illegal the government's decisions not to grant certification to them. The ruling represents the eighth straight loss for the central government in a series of court battles over the government certification of the victims of atomic bomb diseases.

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Ruling recognizing 2 people as A-bomb sufferers upheld

SENDAI, Japan - Mitsuo Niinuma (center R), 84, and Akemi Hatano (center L), 69, celebrate after the Sendai High Court on May 28 upheld a lower court ruling that recognized them as suffering from radiation illnesses caused by the 1945 atomic bombing of Hiroshima, while dismissing their demand for compensation. Hatano was on a street about 1.8 kilometers from ground zero in Hiroshima when the bomb was dropped, and Niinuma was at barracks about 2 km away.

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Man, in retrial, given death for murders committed at age 18

HIROSHIMA, Japan - Hiroshi Motomura, the husband of Yayoi, who was killed along with her 11-month-old daughter and raped afterward by a man who was then 18, speaks at a news conference in Hiroshima on April 22 after the Hiroshima High Court, in a retrial ordered by the Supreme Court, reversed itself and sentenced the defendant to death. The high court had earlier given him life imprisonment.

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Man, in retrial, given death for murders committed at age 18

HIROSHIMA, Japan - Crowds line up outside the Hiroshima High Court on April 22 for admission tickets to attend the retrial of a 27-year-old man who was convicted of killing, when he was 18, a 23-year-old woman and her 11-month-old daughter in Hikari, Yamaguchi Prefecture, in 1999 and raping the woman afterward. In a retrial ordered by the Supreme Court, the high court sentenced the defendant to death, reversing an earlier ruling giving him life imprisonment.

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Top court orders benefit payments to 3 A-bomb victims in Brazil

TOKYO, Japan - Supporters for three Japanese atomic-bomb survivors in Brazil celebrate in front of the Supreme Court in Tokyo after the top court upheld a high court decision ordering the Hiroshima prefectural government to pay them all the healthcare benefits they are entitled to without applying a statute of limitations.

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High court orders benefit payments for A-bomb survivors in Brazil

HIROSHIMA, Japan - Kazuyuki Tamura (R), one of supporters of three Japanese atomic-bomb survivors in Brazil, beams at a press conference on Feb. 8 after the Hiroshima High Court ordered the Hiroshima prefectural government to pay the three healthcare benefits it had declined to give citing legal restrictions on retroactive payments.

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Court orders benefit payments for A-bomb survivors in Brazil

HIROSHIMA, Japan - Lawyers and supporters for atomic-bomb survivors in Brazil hold up a banner as they enter the Hiroshima High Court in Hiroshima on Feb. 8. The court ordered the Hiroshima prefectural government to pay three Japanese atomic-bomb survivors in Brazil healthcare benefits it had declined to give citing legal restrictions on retroactive payments.

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(2)Court orders damages for A-bomb-affected Korean workers

HIROSHIMA, Japan - A supporter of South Korean plaintiffs who sued the Japanese government and Mitsubishi Heavy Industries Ltd. for 440 million yen in damages holds up a banner in front of the Hiroshima High Court on Jan. 19 showing the plaintiffs' claim was partially admitted by the court. The court ordered the state to pay 1.2 million yen in damages to each of the 40 plaintiffs, who were affected by the 1945 atomic bombing of Hiroshima while forced to work at Mitsubishi's factory in Hiroshima as conscript laborers during World War II.

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(1)Court orders damages for A-bomb-affected Korean workers

HIROSHIMA, Japan - South Korean plaintiffs who sued the Japanese government and Mitsubishi Heavy Industries Ltd. for a total of 440 million yen in damages enter the Hiroshima High Court in Hiroshima on Jan. 18. The court ordered the state to pay 1.2 million yen in damages to each of the 40 plaintiffs, who were affected by the 1945 atomic bombing of Hiroshima while forced to work at Mitsubishi's factory in Hiroshima as conscript laborers during World War II.

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(3)Japanese court awards damages to Chinese forced laborers

HIROSHIMA, Japan - Shao Yicheng (R) and Song Jiyao (C) smile at a press conference on July 9 after the Hiroshima High Court awarded damages in full to them and three other plaintiffs who said they were forced to work in severe conditions at a construction site in Hiroshima Prefecture during World War II.

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(1)Court awards damages to Chinese in wartime forced-labor case

HIROSHIMA, Japan - A supporter of a group of Chinese plaintiffs holds a banner reading ''suit won'' after the Hiroshima High Court awarded damages in full on July 9 to the group who said they were forced to work in severe conditions at a construction site in Hiroshima Prefecture during World War II. The high court overturned a July 2002 lower court ruling that rejected the lawsuit brought by Shao Yicheng, 78, and four other plaintiffs four years earlier against Nishimatsu Construction Co., a construction firm based in Tokyo.

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(2)Court awards damages to Chinese in wartime forced-labor case

HIROSHIMA, Japan - Plaintiffs, accompanied by their lawyers and supporters, walk into the Hiroshima High Court on July 9 to hear a ruling on their damages suit. The high court awarded damages in full by overturning a July 2002 lower court ruling that rejected the lawsuit brought by Shao Yicheng, 78, and four other plaintiffs four years earlier against Nishimatsu Construction Co., a construction firm based in Tokyo.

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Gov't ordered to pay S. Korean A-bomb survivor

FUKUOKA, Japan - Lee Kang Young (C), an atomic-bomb survivor living abroad, holds a news conference in Fukuoka on Feb. 7 after the Fukuoka High Court ordered the Japanese central government to pay a medical allowance to him as part of measures aimed at assisting survivors of the 1945 atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki.

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Kwak hails government decision

TOKYO, Japan - Kwak Kwi Hoon, a Korean survivor of the 1945 atomic bombing of Hiroshima, speaks at a news conference in Tokyo on Dec. 18 after the government decided not to appeal a high court ruling ordering it to pay medical allowances to him. Kwak, who left Japan to return to his home in South Korea, called the decision ''historical.''

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Gov't set to decide not to appeal A-bomb survivor case

TOKYO, Japan - Kwak Kwi Hoon, a Korean survivor of the 1945 atomic bombing of Hiroshima, speaks to reporters in Tokyo on Dec. 17 about the Japanese government's decision not to appeal a Dec. 5 high court ruling ordering it to pay medical allowances to Kwak, who now lives in South Korea. It was the first ruling by a high court recognizing that someone holding an A-bomb survivor's health card who lives abroad is eligible to receive the allowances on the same terms as those living in Japan.

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(2)Court rejects state appeal of overseas A-bomb survivor ruling

OSAKA, Japan - Kwak Kwi Hoon (R), 78, a Korean survivor of the 1945 atomic bombing of Hiroshima, smiles at a news conference Dec. 5 after the Osaka High Court rejected the state's appeal and upheld an earlier lower court ruling ordering the central and Osaka prefectural governments to pay a medical allowance to an atomic bomb survivor living abroad.

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(1)Court rejects state appeal of overseas A-bomb survivor ruling

OSAKA, Japan - Kwak Kwi Hoon, 78, a Korean survivor of the 1945 atomic bombing of Hiroshima, walks into the Osaka High Court on Dec. 5. The court rejected the state's appeal and upheld an earlier lower court ruling ordering the central and Osaka prefectural governments to pay a medical allowance to an atomic bomb survivor living abroad. It is the first high court ruling to recognize that atomic-bomb survivors or ''hibakusha'' living abroad are eligible to receive the allowance based on the Atomic Bomb Victims Relief Law on the same terms as those living in Japan.

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Justice Ministry releases 3 Afghan asylum seekers temporarily

OSAKA, Japan - The Justice Ministry's West Japan Immigration Bureau on Oct. 29 temporarily released Abdul Aziz (R) and two other Afghan asylum seekers who have been detained at a facility in Ibaraki, Osaka Prefecture, for violations of the immigration law. In September, Aziz had his refugee status recognized by the Hiroshima High Court. The two others have been denied refugee status by the ministry and are appealing their cases at district courts in Hiroshima and Nagoya.

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State loses appeal over life term for teen killer of 2

HIROSHIMA, Japan - Hiroshi Motomura speaks to reporters on March 14 about the Hiroshima High Court's ruling rejecting prosecutors' call for the death penalty for a teenager who killed his wife and her baby daughter in 1999.

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High court nixes Japan's compensating S. Korean sex slaves

HIROSHIMA, Japan - Plaintiffs and their supporters protest a Hiroshima High Court decision March 29 that overturned a lower court ruling ordering the Japanese government in 1998 to compensate South Korean women forced to provide sex to Imperial Japanese Army soldiers during World War II.

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High court rules 84 A-bom?b black rain victims eligible for aid

A Japanese high court ruled Wednesday that 84 people in Hiroshima Prefecture are eligible to receive state health care benefits even though they were exposed to radioactive black rain following the 1945 U.S. atomic bombing outside an area currently recognized by the government. Upholding a lower court decision last year, the Hiroshima High Court ruled in favor of the plaintiffs, saying they should receive the same benefits as those provided for atomic bomb survivors who were in the zone where the state has recognized black rain fell.

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(1)Court orders damages for A-bomb-affected Korean workers

HIROSHIMA, Japan - South Korean plaintiffs who sued the Japanese government and Mitsubishi Heavy Industries Ltd. for a total of 440 million yen in damages enter the Hiroshima High Court in Hiroshima on Jan. 18. The court ordered the state to pay 1.2 million yen in damages to each of the 40 plaintiffs, who were affected by the 1945 atomic bombing of Hiroshima while forced to work at Mitsubishi's factory in Hiroshima as conscript laborers during World War II. (Kyodo)

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(2)Court orders damages for A-bomb-affected Korean workers

HIROSHIMA, Japan - A supporter of South Korean plaintiffs who sued the Japanese government and Mitsubishi Heavy Industries Ltd. for 440 million yen in damages holds up a banner in front of the Hiroshima High Court on Jan. 19 showing the plaintiffs' claim was partially admitted by the court. The court ordered the state to pay 1.2 million yen in damages to each of the 40 plaintiffs, who were affected by the 1945 atomic bombing of Hiroshima while forced to work at Mitsubishi's factory in Hiroshima as conscript laborers during World War II. (Kyodo)

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Gov't not to appeal high court rulings on A-bomb sufferers

TOKYO, Japan - Health, Labor and Welfare Minister Yoichi Masuzoe speaks to reporters at the Diet building in Tokyo on June 10. He said the government has decided not to appeal two high court rulings that backed A-bomb survivors seeking government recognition of their radiation-related illnesses stemming from the 1945 U.S. atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki (Kyodo)

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Gov't set to decide not to appeal A-bomb survivor case

TOKYO, Japan - Kwak Kwi Hoon, a Korean survivor of the 1945 atomic bombing of Hiroshima, speaks to reporters in Tokyo on Dec. 17 about the Japanese government's decision not to appeal a Dec. 5 high court ruling ordering it to pay medical allowances to Kwak, who now lives in South Korea. It was the first ruling by a high court recognizing that someone holding an A-bomb survivor's health card who lives abroad is eligible to receive the allowances on the same terms as those living in Japan. (Kyodo)

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Kwak hails government decision

TOKYO, Japan - Kwak Kwi Hoon, a Korean survivor of the 1945 atomic bombing of Hiroshima, speaks at a news conference in Tokyo on Dec. 18 after the government decided not to appeal a high court ruling ordering it to pay medical allowances to him. Kwak, who left Japan to return to his home in South Korea, called the decision ''historical.'' (Kyodo)

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Suit filed to void upper house election over vote disparity

A group of lawyers head to the Hiroshima High Court on July 11, 2016, to file a lawsuit seeking nullification of the outcome of the Hiroshima constituency's upper house election the previous day due to the uncorrected disparity in the weight of votes among constituencies. Other similar lawsuits will soon follow. (Kyodo) ==Kyodo

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Hospital ordered to pay damages over demotion due to pregnancy

Nami Shimonaka, a lawyer for a physical therapist who filed a damages suit against a hospital for being demoted after seeking a lighter workload due to pregnancy, speaks at a news conference in Hiroshima, western Japan, on Nov. 17, 2015, after the Hiroshima High Court ordered the hospital to pay some 1.75 million yen ($14,180). (Kyodo) ==Kyodo

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Another court ruling questions constitutionality of 2014 election

Lawyers meet with reporters in front of the Okayama branch of the Hiroshima High Court in the western Japanese city of Okayama on April 28, 2015, after the court ruled that the results of the 2014 House of Representatives election were "in a state of unconstitutionality" due to disparities in the weight of votes between constituencies. (Kyodo) ==Kyodo

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Hiroshima court questions 2014 election due to gap in vote value

Plaintiffs' attorneys walk to the Hiroshima High Court in western Japan on March 24, 2015, before a ruling on vote disparity in the December 2014 lower house election. The court ruled the election was "in a state of unconstitutionality" due to a disparity in the weight of votes between districts, but rejected the plaintiffs' demand that its results be nullified. Similar decisions were made by other courts earlier in the month. (Kyodo) ==Kyodo

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(3)Japanese court awards damages to Chinese forced laborers

HIROSHIMA, Japan - Shao Yicheng (R) and Song Jiyao (C) smile at a press conference on July 9 after the Hiroshima High Court awarded damages in full to them and three other plaintiffs who said they were forced to work in severe conditions at a construction site in Hiroshima Prefecture during World War II. (Kyodo)

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High court slashes damages owed by Osaka governor over 2007 remar

OSAKA, Japan - Osaka Gov. Toru Hashimoto answers questions from reporters in Osaka on July 2 after the Hiroshima High Court more than halved to 3.6 million yen the compensation owed by Hashimoto to four lawyers over remarks he made in 2007 about their tactics in defending a man convicted of murder. (Kyodo)

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Gov't not to appeal A-bomb suit loss at Tokyo High Court

TOKYO, Japan - Health, Labor and Welfare Minister Yoichi Masuzoe (L) met with representatives of plaintiffs suing the state to seek certification as sufferers from atomic bomb-related illnesses at the Diet building in Tokyo on June 9. Earlier in the day, Masuzoe said the government will not appeal a Tokyo High Court ruling ordering the state to certify 29 of 30 plaintiffs as suffering from illness caused by radiation from the atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki in 1945. (Kyodo)

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Gov't not to appeal A-bomb lawsuit loss at Tokyo High Court

TOKYO, Japan - Health, Labor and Welfare Minister Yoichi Masuzoe speaks to reporters at the parliament building in Tokyo on June 9 about the government decision not to appeal a Tokyo High Court ruling ordering the state to certify 29 of 30 plaintiffs as suffering from illness caused by radiation from the 1945 atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki. (Kyodo)

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High court certifies 9 as A-bomb illness sufferers

OSAKA, Japan - Plaintiffs rejoice at a press conference after the Osaka High Court on May 30 certified nine people as sufferers of illnesses from radiation as a result of the 1945 U.S. atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki. The court declared illegal the government's decisions not to grant certification to them. The ruling represents the eighth straight loss for the central government in a series of court battles over the government certification of the victims of atomic bomb diseases. (Kyodo)

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State again loses suit for not certifying A-bomb sufferers

TOKYO, Japan - Supporters of plaintiffs who filed a lawsuit against the state over certification of atomic-bomb sufferers celebrate in front of the Tokyo High Court in Tokyo on May 28. The court ruled that the state should certify 29 of 30 plaintiffs as suffering from illnesses caused by radiation from the 1945 atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki, scrapping a lower court ruling that recognized just 21. (Kyodo)