A total of 45 survivors filed suits in courts in Hiroshima, Nagasaki and Kumamoto in western Japan seeking recognition and compensation of three million yen (25,400 US dollars) each, said Mikiso Iwasa, spokesman for Hidankyo (The Japan Confederation of Atomic and Hydrogen Bomb Sufferers Organizations).

"We hope that the government will reconsider its overly strict criteria (for recognition) and eventually grant them the status which would allow them to receive specific medical financial aid," Iwasa said.

Recognition as suffering an atomic bombing-related illness by the government currently depends on the type of cancer from which the victim is suffering as well as the distance he or she was from the blast, he explained.

"For example, a victim suffering from stomach cancer is considered to suffer a radiation-related illness only if he or she was 1.2 kilometres (three quarters of a mile) or less away," from the hypocenter of the explosion.

As of March 31 2002, 285,620 people were certified as atomic bombing survivors, but only 2,169 of them, or 0.76 percent, are recognized as suffering from radiation illness, said an official at the Ministry of Health, Labor and Welfare.

Hidankyo would cover the medical expenses of the plaintiffs -- many of whom are in their 70s and are suffering from a variety of cancers -- throughout the court case, which is expected to open next month and last for about two years, Iwasa said.

Two similar suits were lodged earlier this year by a total of 28 plaintiffs, according to Kyodo News agency.

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