During opening arguments over forced sterilization in Osaka, hearing impaired woman communicates through signer: “I would have a different life if I had children. I can’t forgive the country that made the law.”

From The Asahi Shimbun via Yahoo! Japan

November 30 2021

OSAKA – The first oral argument in a lawsuit in which hearing-impaired people in Kansai sought compensation for damages from the government was held at the Osaka High Court on the 30th, alleging that they were forced to undergo fertility surgery under the former Eugenic Protection Law. A woman in her 70s complained through a sign language interpreter, “I would have a different life if I had children. I can’t forgive the country that made the law.” The oral argument will be concluded on the same day, and the decision will be handed down on February 22, next year.

The Osaka District Court ruling in November last year pointed out that the old law violates Article 13 of the Constitution, which guarantees the right to self-determine to give birth and raise children, and Article 14 of the Constitution, which stipulates equality before the law. However, 20 years have passed since the tort, and the plaintiff’s claim was dismissed, saying that the right to seek damages had expired.

The plaintiff’s attorney-at-law said in an argument on that day, “Is it okay to exempt the country only by the passage of time, even though it is an irreparable violation of human rights?”