Fifteen people were recognized by the Nagasaki District Court as being victims of the 1945 atomic bombing of the city on Monday, despite having been outside the state-designated area for recognizing victims.
The court, presided over by Judge Shinsuke Matsunaga, ordered the Nagasaki prefectural and city governments to issue atomic bomb survivor's certificates to 15 of the 44 plaintiffs in the lawsuit. Four of the plaintiffs have already died.
"There are areas outside the state-designated zone where (radioactive) 'black rain' is believed to have fallen," he said.
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