Hearings begin regarding Hokkaido welfare facilities where sterilization procedures for disabled persons were allegedly “not forced”

By Barrier Free Japan with extracts from The Mainichi Shimbun

December 19 2022

HOKKAIDO – On December 19, the Hokkaido prefectural government began interviewing facility staff regarding the issue of a group home ran by the ‘Asunaro Welfare Association’ social welfare corporation in the town of Esashi, Hokkaido, that had requested sterilization for intellectually disabled couples.

The facility held a press conference on the same day and explained that they did not force the couples to undergo sterilization.

The Hokkaido government, in cooperation with the town of Esashi, will proceed with an investigation to confirm the facts and determine whether the facility’s response was appropriate.

The press conference was held following an admission made on December 18 by the operator of the group home that the “facility operated by Asunaro Social Welfare Service Corporation in Esashi, Hokkaido, has made sterilization a condition for mentally disabled couples for more than 20 years.”