Arab News Japan

TOKYO: The first hearing concerning cases of thyroid cancers discovered after the Fukushima nuclear disaster took place in a Tokyo court on Thursday.

Around 100 people, many from the Fukushima region, sought to attend the oral argument of a young woman who contracted thyroid problems following the Fukushima nuclear disaster.

The young woman had two surgeries and doctors found metastases in her lungs. Her cancer was revealed during an epidemiological survey of the children living in the Fukushima area after the nuclear disaster in March 2011.

Her plea was recorded and played during a meeting with the young woman’s lawyers that brought many to tears. The young woman concluded her plea hoping that the trial would be resolved quickly so that she could be compensated for health costs.

Hiroyuki Kawaii, one of the defense lawyers, noted that there were only six complainants among the 300 cases of thyroid cancer discovered after the epidemiological investigation because many patients do not want to be exposed publicly and suffer harassment.

Kateryna, a Ukrainian singer, came with her mother to play the bandura, a traditional Ukrainian instrument, and to show her sympathy for the victims of Fukushima because she said she had experienced the Chernobyl nuclear disaster when she was young.