eugenic protection law

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 bill, backed by the ruling and opposition camps, offers an apology and a lump-sum payment of at least ¥3 million to each victim.

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 ...

The decision reflects the parties’ consensus that there must be redress soon for the victims, who are advanced in age, without waiting for court decisions.

Seven plaintiffs have now filed sterilization lawsuits against the government since January.

One of the plaintiffs underwent surgery while living at a children’s home, despite not having been diagnosed with any disability or given any information about the procedure.

The long-delayed step heralds a move toward redressing victims of the 1948 law, which wasn’t scrapped until 1996.