Gov't not to appeal against damages awarded to leprosy patients' kin

Prime Minister Shinzo Abe said Tuesday the Japanese government will not file an appeal against a recent court ruling in Kumamoto awarding damages to former leprosy patients' kin.In late June, the Kumamoto District Court ruled in favor of 541 plaintiffs, ordering the state to pay a total of about 370 million yen ($3.4 million) in damages. The government had until Friday to decide whether to appeal against the ruling, and the decision came ahead of an upper house election on July 21.It was the first ruling awarding compensation to family members of patients who suffered discrimination in the …READ FULL ARTICLE