Report to Mention Forced Sterilization of 9-Yr-Olds under Former Law in Japan

A report to be submitted to the speakers of both chambers of the Diet, Japan’s parliament, as early as Monday will reveal that 9-year-old children were among the disabled people forced to undergo sterilization under the now-defunct eugenic protection law, a draft of the report showed Saturday.

According to the draft, the 1,400-page report will note that sterilization under the law peaked in 1955, and that a total of about 25,000 people are believed to have had sterilization surgery, with 66 pct of them sterilized without their consent.