Japanese government to compensate victims of forced sterilization

At least 25,000 Japanese men and women were forcibly sterilized between 1948 and 1996 under a eugenics law used against people with or perceived to have disabilities.

“The worst human rights violation since the war”: That’s how lawyers describe the forced sterilization of tens of thousands of Japanese people over a half-century after the war under a eugenics law. This week, victims demanding compensation for their ruined lives won their case in Japan’s Supreme Court.

A few months ago, septuagenarian Junko Izuka spoke of the ordeal she had endured nearly 60 years earlier: a forced sterilization surgery. “At the age of 16, I underwent surgery without any explanation. Because of this operation, I was completely deprived of the modest dream that was mine, that of a happy marriage with children.”

This week, the courts finally ruled in favor of Junko Izuka and the other plaintiffs. Between 1948 and 1966, at least 25,000 Japanese men and women were sterilized under a eugenics law used against disabled people or those perceived to be disabled, without their consent. The Supreme Court ordered the government to pay damages.

Prime Minister Fumio Kishida acknowledged the decision: “We will promptly pay the damages as stated in the Supreme Court verdict and I will meet in person with the victims of these forced sterilizations in response to their wishes. I would like to apologize to them directly after listening to their painful experience.”

Although the government had already partially acknowledged the facts and proposed a compensation program, which the plaintiffs considered inadequate, it refuted their arguments in court for years. In the end, the Supreme Court ruled that the eugenics law, which was abolished in 1996, was unconstitutional and strongly criticized the government, which continued to defend the legitimacy of the legislation at the time.

Now the unpopular prime minister is forced to change tack. “Forced sterilization operations are an intolerable violation of human rights” he said. But even if they are still alive, thousands of people who were operated on against their will when they were still children are still unaware today that they were victims of this law.