In Japan, huge victory for victims of forced sterilization after Supreme Court ruling

This eugenics law, repealed thirty years ago, is decidedly obsolete. Japan’s Supreme Court on Wednesday July 3 ruled unconstitutional the now-obsolete law that led to the forced sterilization of thousands of people in the country, a major victory for victims, local media reported.

The country’s top court also ruled that the 20-year statute of limitations on victims’ compensation claims cannot be applied.

The Japanese government admits that approximately 16,500 people were sterilized under this eugenics law, which was in effect in Japan from 1948 to 1996. During this period, the law allowed doctors to sterilize people with hereditary intellectual disabilities. “To prevent the creation of substandard offspring”.

Japanese officials say another 8,500 were sterilized with their consent, although prosecutors say the cases may be more likely. “Really Forced” Due to the stresses experienced.

“I have spent sixty-six years suffering because of this government operation. I want the life that was taken from me back.Saburo Kita (the pseudonym he uses) underwent a vasectomy at the age of 14 while in an institution for troubled children.

When he married years later, he was unable to tell his wife in confidence shortly before her death in 2013. “Only if the government faces up to its actions and accepts its responsibility will I be able to accept even a little bit of my life”Now 81 years old Mr. Kita announced during a press conference last year.

The government apologizes

During the 1980s and 1990s, the number of operations decreased to a minimum before the law was finally repealed in 1996. This dark period in Japanese history was brought back into focus in 2018 when a woman in her 60s sued the government for an operation. She was 15, which paved the way for cases like this.

The government apologized “My Heart Is Full” After the adoption of a law in 2019 that provides a total compensation of 3.2 million yen (about 18,500 euros today) per victim. But the survivors believe that this amount is too small compared to the severity of their suffering, and have taken their fight to court.

In recent years, local courts have largely recognized that the eugenics law violates the Japanese constitution. Judges, however, were divided on the validity of actions beyond the twenty-year statute of limitations.

“We hope that this decision will pave the way for serious action by the government to eradicate eugenics-type mentality” That the law has been created, Mr. Kida’s lawyer, Nato Sekiya, told AFP.