Japan Supreme Court says forced sterilisation law was ‘unconstitutional’, allows people to claim compensation

The Japanese Supreme Court on Wednesday (Jul 3) ruled that the Eugenic Protection Law, which was scrapped in 1996, was 'unconstitutional'. The government had used the draconian law to forcibly sterilise around 16,500 people in order to "prevent the generation of poor quality descendants." The top court also nullified a 20-year statute of limitations in this case, paving the way for thousands of victims to receive compensation from the government.

"For the state to evade responsibility for damages payments would be extremely unfair and unjust, and absolutely intolerable," the court said.

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The law, which came into effect in 1948, allowed the government to use physical restraint, anaesthesia and even "deception" to forcibly sterilise the people. In total, 25,000 people were sterilised, including 8,500 those whose consent was taken on paper.

But lawyers argue those people were likely "de facto forced" because of the pressure individuals faced.

Victims speak up

The grave injustice of the past first came to limelight in 2018 when an elderly woman sued the government over a procedure that she had undergone at the age of 15 under the controversial law.

This suit paved the way for more similar cases against the government.

One victim, who uses the pseudonym Saburo Kita, was quoted by the news agency AFP as saying that today she wanted to tell her parents that they had won.

"There are people who couldn't be here today. There are those who died as well. I want to visit the grave of my parents and tell them we've won," Kita said.

Govt issued apology

The Japanese government in 2019 had passed a legislation apologising "wholeheartedly" for the defunct law and declaring compensation of 3.2 million yen (around $20,000 today) per victim.

But survivors didn't find it enough and took the matter to court.

Judges in lower courts agreed that the law violated the country's constitution but voiced mixed opinions on whether the victims could be compensated given that the 20-year window for pursuing damages had closed.

Now, the Supreme Court has ended this debate with a historic ruling, welcomed by the victims.

"We cannot forgive the irresponsibility of the government and its lack of human rights awareness, as well as the fact that what is now described as the biggest human rights violation in Japan's post-war history was left unaddressed for such a long time," one group of victims said in a statement.

(With inputs from agencies)