The Shog-A.I. Shimbun Podcast #45: Forced Sterilization Plaintiff Kikuo Kojima Speaks About Being Told “it would be terrible if people like you had children”

From Barrier Free Japan

July 22 2024

TOKYO – After Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida on Wednesday apologized directly to victims of forced sterilizations conducted under the now-defunct eugenic protection law, some of the plaintiffs and their advocates spoke.

Kikuo Kojima, 83, of Sapporo was put up for adoption soon after his birth. He contracted polio, leaving him with a disabled right leg for which he was bullied. At age 19, when he was leading a desolate life, he was forced to undergo sterilization.

Kojima was handcuffed by a police officer in front of his home and put into a psychiatric hospital in Sapporo. It was one-sidedly determined that he was mentally ill, and when he was sterilized, a nurse told him that this had to be done “since it would be terrible if people like you had children.”

Kojima took on jobs such as driving a cab, and he married his wife Reiko, now 81, shortly before he turned 40. He was unable to tell her about the surgery out of fear of damaging their relationship. “I was going to take that to my grave,” he said.

In January 2018, hearing about the lawsuit filed with the Sendai District Court brought back all the anger and sadness he had been suppressing. When he confided in Reiko about what had happened to him, she nodded quietly and suggested him seeking advice from a lawyer.

The Kojimas decided, after filing their lawsuit in May 2018, that they would let their real names and faces be made public during their court proceedings, in hope that their actions would spur other victims to speak out.

Episode Notes:

‘Forced Sterilization Plaintiff Kikuo Kojima says he was told “it would be terrible if people like you had children” ’

Forced Sterilization Plaintiff Kikuo Kojima says he was told “it would be terrible if people like you had children”