Japan’s Supreme Court orders government to compensate victims of forced sterilization

3 Jul. (EUROPA PRESS) –

Japan’s Supreme Court on Wednesday ordered the government to compensate several victims of forced sterilization that took place for decades in the country and affected thousands of people considered “inferior” for having some type of illness or disability.

The court has thus resolved five lawsuits recently filed against the State for carrying out such surgeries between the 1950s and 1970s and has clarified that crimes related to the eugenics protection law do not have a statute of limitations. In this regard, it has ruled for the first time that the aforementioned legislation – which was in force from 1948 to 1996 – is unconstitutional.

This paves the way for victims who were subjected to this practice against their will to seek legal action and compensation for what happened, the Japanese news agency Kyodo reported.

“It is extremely unfair to release the Government from its criminal liability by talking about the statute of limitations for these crimes,” the court said, adding that applying this measure would be “intolerable” and would constitute an “abuse of power.”

The judges said the eugenics legislation violated Article 13 of the Constitution, which guarantees freedom of choice to undergo such invasive surgery. It also violated Article 14, which provides for the right to equality of all Japanese citizens.

Japanese Chief of Staff Yoshimasa Hayashi has clarified that the government will “compensate and respond appropriately to the victims after examining the court ruling” and has explained that it will also consider the possibility of allowing the plaintiffs who so wish to meet with Prime Minister Fumio Kishida.

The government is expected to pay around 11 million yen (around 63,200 euros) to each victim and 2.2 million yen (around 12,630 euros) to the wife of a man who is among the victims of this practice and who has since died. These amounts are higher than those previously stipulated by the courts.

Japanese government figures suggest that some 25,000 people were sterilized under the law, of whom 16,000 were subjected to the practice without their consent.