Bill Submitted to Aid Civilian Victims of Pacific War

Tokyo, July 8 (Jiji Press)–Japanese opposition lawmakers submitted a bill to provide relief to surviving civilian victims of the Pacific War to the House of Councillors, the upper chamber of the Diet, or parliament, on Wednesday. Jointly submitted by seven opposition parties, including the Constitutional Democratic Party of Japan and the Democratic Party for the People, as well as the “Okinawa no Kaze” Upper House parliamentary group, the bill calls for providing a lump-sum payment of 500,000 yen to individuals left disabled by air raids and in the Battle of Okinawa during the Pacific War, part of World War II. It also requires the government to conduct a fact-finding survey on damage inflicted by air raids and other attacks during the war. It is the first time in 38 years that a bill of this kind has been submitted to the Diet. With about 3,000 people expected to be eligible for the lump-sum payment, the total cost is estimated to reach roughly 1.5 billion yen. The aid plan was drawn up by a suprapartisan group of lawmakers working to support civilian victims of airstrikes during the Pacific War. But the ruling Liberal Democratic Party and its coalition partner, the Japan Innovation Party, did not participate in the joint the submission of the legislation, due to internal disagreements. The opposition parties will seek support from the ruling camp, aiming to enact the bill during the current Diet session, slated to end July 17. END [Copyright The Jiji Press, Ltd.]