Category: Forced Sterilization

by Michael Gillan Peckitt October 7, 2026 Number of comments0
Disability Forced Sterilization Japan Podcast

Japan’s “Father of Disability Welfare” Applied for Forced Sterilization, Told 16-Year-Old Girl bed-wetting will stop [Podcast Episode]

It has been discovered through research that Omi Gakuen, a facility for children with intellectual disabilities in Shiga Prefecture founded by Kazuo Itoga, who was praised as the “father of disability welfare,” gave a 16-year-old girl with an intellectual disability the false explanation that “your bed-wetting will stop” when applying for her forced sterilization in 1952, during the period when the Eugenic Protection Law was in effect (1948–1996). The law permitted sterilization to be carried out through deception. This is the first time that the specific means of deception used in such a case have been identified in Shiga Prefecture.

by Michael Gillan Peckitt October 5, 2026 1
Disability Forced Sterilization Japan

Japan’s “Father of Disability Welfare”Applied for Forced Sterilization, Told 16-Year-Old Girl bed-wetting will stop

It has been discovered through research that Omi Gakuen, a facility for children with intellectual disabilities in Shiga Prefecture founded by Kazuo Itoga, who was praised as the “father of disability welfare,” gave a 16-year-old girl with an intellectual disability the false explanation that “your bed-wetting will stop” when applying for her forced sterilization in 1952, during the period when the Eugenic Protection Law was in effect (1948–1996). The law permitted sterilization to be carried out through deception. This is the first time that the specific means of deception used in such a case have been identified in Shiga Prefecture.

by Michael Gillan Peckitt January 26, 2026 Number of comments0
Disability Eugenics Forced Sterilization Japan Podcast Politics Sanae Takaichi

Takaichi Meets with Forced Sterilization Victims [Podcast Episode]

“The government’s responsibility is extremely grave,” Takaichi said when she met with the victims at the prime minister’s office on Wednesday.   A law on compensation to forced sterilization victims took effect on Jan. 17 last year following a Supreme Court ruling that recognized the state’s liability. While victims are estimated to include around 25,000 individuals subjected to sterilization procedures and about 59,000 who had abortions, the number of cases certified under the law remained at just 1,560 as of the end of November last year.

by Michael Gillan Peckitt January 23, 2026 Number of comments0
Disability Forced Sterilization Japan Politics Sanae Takaichi

Takaichi Meets with Forced Sterilization Victims

Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi mentioned the government’s responsibility in her meeting with victims of forced sterilization conducted under the country’s now-defunct eugenics law. 
   “The government’s responsibility is extremely grave,” Takaichi said when she met with the victims at the prime minister’s office on Wednesday.   A law on compensation to forced sterilization victims took effect on Jan. 17 last year following a Supreme Court ruling that recognized the state’s liability. While victims are estimated to include around 25,000 individuals subjected to sterilization procedures and about 59,000 who had abortions, the number of cases certified under the law remained at just 1,560 as of the end of November last year.

by Michael Gillan Peckitt June 11, 2025 Number of comments0
Disability Forced Sterilization Japan

Japanese man tells U.N. forced sterilization at 14 ruined his life

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.

by Michael Gillan Peckitt March 19, 2025 Number of comments0
Education Forced Sterilization Health Japan Podcast

School Health Checkups in Japan Still Cause Trouble with Parents [Podcast Episode]

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.

by Michael Gillan Peckitt February 7, 2025 Number of comments0
Disability Eugenics Forced Sterilization Japan Podcast

Fear of Shaming May Cause Hesitancy in Making Compensation Claims for Japan’s 25,000 Forced Sterilization Victims [Podcast Episode]

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.