Kyodo: 1945 Osaka air raid victims, kin to file for damages suit
A group of victims of a series of U.S. air raids on Osaka during World War II as well as bereaved family members are preparing to sue the Japanese government for damages and an apology for their suffering, informed sources said Saturday. The citizens are expected to soon establish a plaintiffs' group of around 10 people to file a suit with the Osaka District Court on Dec. 8, the 67th anniversary of the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor. The sources said they are seeking 10 million yen each in compensation for the Osaka air raids in 1945, which are believed to have killed or injured over 10,000 people. The group also comprises victims of air raids in other areas who are now residents of Osaka Prefecture. The group plans to argue that the government failed to fully compensate civilian victims while providing generous reparations to soldiers, civilian personnel working for the military and their families. "People killed by air raids died like dogs," Teruko Anno, a 69-year- old resident of Sakai City, Osaka who lost her left leg in an air aid in Kagoshima Prefecture said...A similar damages lawsuit was also filed last March by a group of 112 people comprising victims of the March 10, 1945 Tokyo air raids, which killed about 100,000 people, and bereaved family members. They have filed with the Tokyo District Court to seek a total of around 1.2 billion yen in compensation and an apology from the state...more...
