The Japanese government has decided to pay compensation worth one-point-one million Yen, or approximately 14-million won per person, to those who suffered from aftereffects of the atomic bomb during the Second World War.

The Yomiuri Shimbun reported that the victims have not been compensated until now because they had left Japan and later sued the Japanese government for damages.

The Yomiuri Shimbun reported that the Japanese government had been delaying the execution of the ruling by the Japanese Supreme Court in 2007 to pay compensation. Now, it has agreed to pay 130 members from the first round of the lawsuit, which constitutes a total of 1,408 plaintiffs.

The newspaper added that the remaining plaintiffs will also likely be able to claim their payments after relevant procedural reviews, given the Japanese government’s policy is to compensate only those ruled eligible.

The victims who are living in Korea had filed a class action lawsuit for damages with the Japanese court against the Japanese government. Their reasoning was that it was illegal for the government to withhold their compensation on the basis that they are not residing in Japan. The Japanese Supreme Court acknowledged withholding such reparations was illegal in 2007 and ordered the Japanese government to comply with the ruling for damage restitution.