A parliamentary report studies the consequences of the eugenics law that was in force until 1996. At least 16,000 people were sterilized by force or trickery. Although the Japanese government arranged the compensation in 2019, just over 1,000 people have received the money so far.
Tokyo () – About 25,000 people with disabilities or chronic illnesses were sterilized in Japan between 1948 and 1996 under a eugenics law. At least 16,000 of these procedures were performed without consent on minors, including two 9-year-old children, one male and one female.
These chilling facts are found in a 1,400-page report that was presented in Parliament earlier this week. The document explains that sterilization was a necessary condition to be admitted to some care centers or to get married and could be done by radiation or by removal of the uterus. Most of the victims were women.
Japanese eugenics law provided for the practice to be performed on people with disabilities, mental illness, or hereditary disorders to prevent them from having children considered “inferior” and to “protect the life and health of the mother.” It was introduced after World War II due to, among other things, food shortages in the country, but high school physical education textbooks in 1975 stated that the eugenics law served to “improve genetic predisposition of the entire population.”
An 80-year-old victim who was sterilized at 14 declared that the Japanese government had “done terrible things by deceiving children” and demanded that the state “do not hide the matter and take our suffering seriously.” A 77-year-old woman who was sterilized at 16 in a northeast Japan clinic without knowing what she was doing, said she was diagnosed with post-traumatic stress disorder because of difficulties she later had in her life.
The law stated that, in the absence of consent for sterilization, a prefectural government study commission could decide whether or not to perform surgery. Actually, in several cases there was no discussion and the Ministry of Social Welfare had sent a notice to the judicial authorities indicating that deception was allowed for the sterilization of people with hereditary diseases.
At a press conference, current chief of staff Hirokazu Matsuno declared that the government “sincerely reflects and deeply apologizes” for the “tremendous pain” inflicted on the victims. A law was passed in 2019 to pay compensation of 3.2 million yen (20,000 euros) to each person who was forced to undergo sterilization, but some lawyers and experts have questioned whether this is an “appropriate” move.
“The report does not explain why the law was created, why it took 48 years to change it, or why the victims were not compensated,” said Koji Niisato, a member of a group of lawyers representing victims. Only 1,049 people have so far received the amount provided by the government.
However, Japan is not the only country that has imposed eugenics policies. The Nazis are believed to have sterilized nearly 400,000 people, but Canada and 30 states in the US have also sterilized the practice, and North Carolina alone has sterilized 7,700 people as of 1973. Two-thirds were people of color. Sweden also sterilized 60,000 physically or mentally disabled women between 1935 and 1976 because they were considered “inferior racial types”.
