Japan grants medical benefits to Hiroshima ‘black rain’ survivors

The Atomic Bomb Dome is seen in Hiroshima, western Japan (Eugene Hoshiko/AP)

Japanese prime minister Yoshihide Suga said he has decided to grant official medical benefits to 84 Hiroshima residents who were exposed to highly radioactive “black rain” after the city’s atomic bombing.

Mr Suga’s decision ends a long legal battle by the central government that delayed medical aid for the “black rain” victims, who were outside a government-set boundary used to decide survivors’ eligibility for medical care.