In a landmark decision, Japan\u2019s Supreme Court has ordered the government to pay damages to people who were forcibly sterilized under a now-defunct eugenics law, ruling the practice was unconstitutional and had violated their rights. <\/p>\n
The Eugenic Protection Law, in place from 1948 to 1996, allowed authorities to forcibly sterilize people with disabilities, including those with mental disorders, hereditary diseases or physical deformities, and leprosy. It also allowed forced abortions if either parent had those conditions. <\/p>\n
The law had aimed to \u201cprevent the increase of the inferior descendants from the eugenic point of view and to protect the life and health of the mother as well,\u201d according to a copy of the law \u2013 which listed \u201cremarkable abnormal sexual desire\u201d and \u201cremarkable clinical inclination\u201d among the conditions targeted. <\/p>\n
About 25,000 people were sterilized without consent during that period, according to the court ruling, citing ministry data. <\/p>\n
Though the government had offered to compensate each victim 3.2 million yen (about $19,800) in 2019 under a relief law, victims and their supporters argued that was far from enough \u2013 with a number continuing their fight in court. <\/p>\n
Wednesday\u2019s ruling addressed five such lawsuits, filed by plaintiffs from across the country to lower courts which then advanced to the Supreme Court. <\/p>\n
In four of those cases, the lower courts had ruled in favor of the plaintiffs \u2013 which the Supreme Court upheld on Wednesday, ordering the government to pay 16.5 million yen (about $102,000) to the plaintiffs and 2.2 million yen ($13,000) to their spouses. <\/p>\n
In the fifth case, the lower court had ruled against the plaintiffs and dismissed their case, citing the 20-year statute of limitations. The Supreme Court overturned this decision on Wednesday, calling the statute \u201cunacceptable\u201d and \u201cextremely contrary to the principles of justice and fairness.\u201d <\/p>\n
The case is now sent back to the lower court to determine how much the government should pay. <\/p>\n
\u201cThe legislative intent of the former Eugenic Protection Law cannot be justified in light of the social conditions of the time,\u201d said Judge Saburo Tokura when handing down the judgment, according to public broadcaster NHK. <\/p>\n
\u201cThe law imposes a grave sacrifice in the form of the loss of reproductive capacity, which is extremely contrary to the spirit of respect for individual dignity and personality, and violates Article 13 of the Constitution,\u201d he added \u2013 referring to every person\u2019s right to life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness. <\/p>\n
After Wednesday\u2019s decision, plaintiffs outside the court \u2013 elderly men and women, many in wheelchairs \u2013 celebrated with their lawyers and supporters, holding up banners that read \u201cvictory.\u201d <\/p>\n
They are among 39 total plaintiffs who have filed lawsuits in recent years \u2013 with six having died since, according to NHK, highlighting the urgency of these cases as victims reach their final years. <\/p>\n
In a press conference after the court ruling, Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshimasa Hayashi expressed the government\u2019s remorse and apology to victims, NHK reported. The government will promptly pay the compensation, and consider other measures such as a meeting between the plaintiffs and Prime Minister Fumio Kishida, he said. <\/p>\n<\/p>\n
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