Lawsuits on the forced sterilization issue filed by three people from three prefectures

Written with extracts from The Yomiuri Online

May 17th 2018

Based on the now defunct eugenics protection law intellectually disabled people were forced to be sterilized surgery.

Three people who live in Tokyo, Hokkaido and Miyagi prefecture – two men and one woman respectively – filed a lawsuit seeking compensation for 11 million to 38.5 million yen in a battle for violation of human rights.

Outside the court, discussions on legislative relief by the Diet members are also underway, and attention is drawn to the way of litigation.

According to the complaint, the three plaintiffs were forced to undergo sterilization surgery in the 1950s and 1960s, respectively. The plaintiffs complained that the Constitution guaranteed the pursuit of happiness guaranteed by the constitution as being “deprived of the right to self-decide whether to raise and bring up a child, and suffered mental pains.

In addition, the plaintiffs are pursuing inactions of the national government and the Diet, saying that the former eugenics protection law did not take remedial measures even after it was amended as the maternal protection law in 1996.

Meanwhile, three plaintiffs have no public records that directly support the fact that they underwent surgery, and the main evidence is related documents, surgical marks remaining in the body, family testimony, etc. In lawsuits, how to prove surgical facts is considered to be an issue.

For forced sterilization surgery, another woman in Miyagi prefecture filed a lawsuit in January this year, plans to sue as a couple in Hokkaido forced abortion and infertile surgery.

Koji Nieto lawyer (Sendai Bar Association), who is scheduled to form a national defense group on 27th this month, said “I want to create an environment where many victims can speak by litigation”.

The Ministry of Health, Labor and Welfare Ministry of Maternal and Child Health Division stated, “Since neither complaint has arrived, comment will be withheld.”

I’m 1948, The Eugenic Protection Act took over the “National Elegance Act” before the war with reference to the German segregation law. In order to prevent “birth of bad offspring”, it became the basis for conducting sterilization surgery for mentally handicapped and mentally ill patients, and if the prefectural examination board approved, the consent of the individual was not required. In 1996, it was revised to the maternal protection law, and the terms of forced sterilization surgery were deleted.