Saburo Kita was labeled a delinquent as a child and sterilized at age 14. He was told the procedure was simply “to remove the bad part.” After the surgery, he discovered he would never be able to have children.
A child victim of forced sterilization under Japan’s now-defunct eugenics protection law said the surgery ruined his life, as he described his experiences at a U.N. event on disability rights on Tuesday 10th June in New York.
A child victim of forced sterilization under Japan’s now-defunct eugenics protection law said the surgery ruined his life, as he described his experiences at a U.N. event on disability rights Tuesday in New York. “Because of the surgery, my life was thrown completely off course,” the 82-year-old man, who uses the pseudonym Saburo Kita, said at the event linked to a United Nations conference on the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities.
School doctors in Japan still have to take the risk of facing complaints from parents about their children’s body parts being exposed during regular health checkups although the education ministry took measures to soothe such parental anxiety over a year ago. According to a survey conducted in June by online medical information provider m3.com, more than 80 pct of the 1,970 responding practitioners and physicians did not want to become school doctors chiefly out of concern that parents “more than necessary” tend not to allow their children’s bodies to be shown to the doctors.
Japan’s government says roughly 25,000 people are eligible for compensation as victims of forced sterilization or their bereaved relatives. It is believed that some of them may hesitate to apply due to fear of discrimination or may be unable to do so because of their disabilities.
Japan’s government says roughly 25,000 people are eligible for compensation as victims of forced sterilization or their bereaved relatives. It is believed that some of them may hesitate to apply due to fear of discrimination or may be unable to do so because of their disabilities.
Japanese Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba has stressed the government’s resolve to steadily pay compensation to victims of forced sterilization conducted under the country’s now-defunct eugenics law. “The government’s responsibility is extremely grave, and I sincerely reflect on it and apologize again to you from the bottom of my heart,” he said.
“We must not repeat human rights violations that destroy the dignity of individuals,” Ishiba said.
PM Ishiba made the promise during a meeting with those including victims who sued the government over the matter at the prime minister’s office in Tokyo on Friday, when a law on compensation to forced sterilization victims took effect.
In the style of all the ‘big beasts’ of social media, I thought ‘Barrier Free Japan’ should do a ‘Wrap-up’ at the end of 2024.
Yumi Suzuki, one of the plaintiffs who sued the Japanese government over forced sterilization under the now-defunct eugenics protection law was selected for the BBC’s annual list of “influential and inspiring women” around the world on Tuesday 3rd December. The theme of this year’s selection was “resilience,” highlighting the women who “are pushing for change and improving lives at community or global level.”
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