Japan's government says it will consider revising the criteria to determine which survivors of the 1945 U.S. atomic bombings of two Japanese cities are entitled to free medical care after an appeals court ordered it to officially recognize more victims.

Thousands of atom bomb survivors still seek official recognition after the government earlier rejected their eligibility for compensation. Last year, the government eased the requirements for recognition following criticism that the rules were too strict and had neglected many who developed illnesses doctors have linked to radiation.

But less than 1 percent of survivors have been officially recognized as suffers of "atomic bomb illness" under the government's criteria, originally established in 1959, public broadcaster NHK said.