Each victim, including those who have suffered psychological trauma, is expected to receive approximately $4,800, Kyodo agency reports
A group of Japanese MPs from various parties prepared a bill to provide state material assistance to victims of the American carpet bombing that took place in the final phase of World War II. Each victim, including those who received psychological injuries, is expected to pay 500 thousand yen (about $4.8 thousand), Kyodo News Agency reported on Tuesday.
At a meeting of the group held in Tokyo on Tuesday it was decided to join forces to ensure that the bill is passed in Parliament as soon as possible.
The Japanese government is currently paying pensions and benefits to veterans of World War II and relatives of former imperial army personnel who died. However, this system does not apply to the victims of the American bombing, which in 1944-1945 literally wiped many cities in the country off the map.
According to various estimates, between 240,000 and 900,000 people, mostly civilians, were killed as a result of these raids. Up to 1.3 million people were injured and approximately 8.5 million lost their homes. The carpet bombing of Tokyo on 10 March 1945, comparable in damage to the nuclear strike on Hiroshima, was particularly horrific. At that time, more than 100,000 people died in the Japanese capital, and over 40% of the city’s buildings were destroyed.