Two men sued the state Monday for damages over their forced sterilization under a now-defunct eugenics protection law that mandated the prevention of people with intellectual disabilities from reproducing.
The two men, now in their 70s and 80s, filed the lawsuits at the Sendai District Court seeking a combined ¥66 million in damages, saying the state robbed them of their right to decide whether to have and raise a child.
The total number of plaintiffs in sterilization lawsuits against the government has increased to 15 across the country since the first such suit was filed in January.