Ruling and opposition party lawmakers on Thursday decided on a bill to provide ¥3.2 million ($28,700) in state redress to every surviving victim of a state sterilization program that was conducted under a now-defunct 1948 eugenics law.
The bill marks progress toward offering relief to the victims of the program that only came to an end in 1996, but the level of compensation was immediately criticized as insufficient by lawyers involved in damages suits filed by victims across the country.
Under the bill, the one-time payments, on par with similar compensation in Sweden, would be made to victims who underwent sterilization irrespective of consent. The spouses of deceased victims would not be eligible for redress.