In this July 15, 2021, file photo, men walk in a heavy rain near the Atomic Bomb Dome in Hiroshima, western Japan. (AP Photo/Eugene Hoshiko)

       TOKYO (Kyodo) -- Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga said Tuesday the government will consider ways to help people in a similar situation to the plaintiffs in a lawsuit who were ruled eligible for health care benefits due to their exposure to radioactive "black rain" in 1945.

       The prime minister revealed the policy in a statement adopted by the Cabinet in the afternoon, which also said the government will not appeal the Hiroshima High Court ruling earlier in the month concerning the 1945 U.S. atomic bombing of the western Japan city.

       Suga, however, said the high court decision was not consistent with past rulings on health damage due to radioactive rain and was not based on scientific radiation dose estimates.

       "By giving consideration to the current situation in which many people still suffer health damage after nearly 76 years since the atomic bombing, we will provide support to all the hibakusha," or survivors of the atomic bombing, the statement said.

       The statement was adopted a day after Suga announced that the government does not intend to appeal the ruling in consideration of the plaintiffs' age and illnesses. But the premier said Monday the July 14 high court ruling is not entirely acceptable and the government will clarify its claim in a statement.

       Chief Cabinet Secretary Katsunobu Kato suggested Tuesday the latest government decision will also affect those seeking recognition as hibakusha in Nagasaki Prefecture, the other city atom-bombed by the United States in 1945.

       "The health ministry will consult on the matter with Hiroshima Prefecture, Hiroshima city, Nagasaki Prefecture and Nagasaki city. We seek to swiftly consider our response toward saving people," Kato said at a regular press conference in the morning.

       The prime minister's statement said the 84 plaintiffs in Hiroshima Prefecture, including deceased individuals, will be certified as hibakusha swiftly.

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