Sapporo district court ruling on forced sterilization case makes courtroom accessible

Written extracts from The Chunichi Shimbun

September 25th 2018

HOKKAIDO – The Sapporo District Court ruling on a case to decide whether Kikuo Kojima (77) of Sapporo City is due damages on the grounds that sterilization was forced under the former eugenic protection law (1948-96) made the public gallery in the courtroom accessible for the hearings on the 25th. More than half – some reports say 60% – of the seats in the court room were allocated to accommodate the disabled people attending , to allow a caretaker with medical equipment, as well as sign language interpreters to accompany them.

The Hokkaido Defense Agency and DPI (Disabled Person International) Hokkaido Block Meeting received a request form submitted on the basis of Disability Discrimination Resolution Law seeking “reasonable consideration” to the country etc, the district court responded with a written document on 14th.

Mr. Masaki Nishimura, Vice-Chairperson of the DPI Japan Congress, said, “It is unusual for the court to take consideration of the soft aspect so far and spread across the country.”