Category: Forced Sterilization

by Michael Gillan Peckitt May 30, 2024 1
Disability Forced Sterilization Japan

New Film Depicts Suffering Of Forced Sterilization Victims; “Chinmoku No 50-Nen” Explores History Of Japan’s Eugenics Law

Japan’s defunct Eugenic Protection Law, which allowed for the forced sterilization of people with disabilities, is at the heart of a recently completed film.

The film, “Chinmoku no 50-Nen” (50 years of silence), depicts the lives of Takaji Kobayashi, 92, a hearing-impaired man from Akashi, Hyogo Prefecture, and his wife. The film uses interviews and dramatic reenactments to depict the suffering of people who were deprived of the right to bear and raise children.

by Michael Gillan Peckitt May 29, 2024 Number of comments0
Disability Forced Sterilization Japan Podcast

As Japan’s Supreme Court Hears Appeal Over Forced Sterilization, the Victims Speak

The Japanese Supreme Court’s Grand Bench held an appeal hearing Wednesday on five damages lawsuits filed against the government over forced sterilization under the now-defunct eugenic protection law, in which victims sought a decision giving them relief.

“Please write a judgment that gives relief to the lives of the victims,” an 81-year-old male plaintiff from Tokyo using the pseudonym Saburo Kita, who was forced to undergo sterilization at the age of 14, said at the hearing.

by Michael Gillan Peckitt May 18, 2024 Number of comments0
Disability Forced Sterilization Japan Podcast Shog.A.I. Shimbun

The Shog-A.I. Shimbun Podcast #27: Japan’s Supreme Court Makes ‘Accommodations’ So Disabled Plaintiffs Can Attend Forced Sterilization Case

Japan’s Supreme Court will take measures to accommodate disabled plaintiffs in five damages lawsuits over forced sterilization under the now-defunct eugenic protection law, including setting up ramps for wheelchair users. It will be the first time for the top court to implement measures for disabled people on a large scale.

by Michael Gillan Peckitt May 17, 2024 1
Disability Forced Sterilization Japan

Japan’s Top Court to Take Measures for Disabled Plaintiffs Over Forced Sterilization 

Japan’s Supreme Court will take measures to accommodate disabled plaintiffs in five damages lawsuits over forced sterilization under the now-defunct eugenic protection law, including setting up ramps for wheelchair users, it was learned Thursday.

It will be the first time for the top court to implement measures for disabled people on a large scale.

by Michael Gillan Peckitt February 7, 2024 1
Disability Forced Sterilization Gender Japan

Japanese court approves nonsterilized trans man’s gender change

A Japanese court on Wednesday recognized a transgender man’s petition to legally change his gender without having first undergone sterilization, after the country’s top court ruled the requirement unconstitutional in October.

The plaintiff, 50-year-old Tacaquito Usui, welcomed the ruling from the Okayama Family Court’s Tsuyama Branch as “profoundly moving.” It is likely to be followed by more from other family courts deliberating over similar circumstances.

by Michael Gillan Peckitt November 1, 2023 1
Disability Eugenics Forced Sterilization Japan

Japan’s Supreme Court Grand Bench to Rule on Forced Sterilization Damages

The Japanese Supreme Court’s First Petty Bench decided Wednesday to have the top court’s Grand Bench issue a unified ruling on five damages lawsuits filed by forced sterilization victims under the now-defunct eugenic protection law. 

The Grand Bench, presided over by Chief Justice Saburo Tokura, is expected to hand down such a ruling next year on the suits, with the top court’s judgment on whether the 20-year statute of limitation for damages claims applies in the cases a focal point.

by Michael Gillan Peckitt August 21, 2023 Number of comments0
Disability Eugenics Forced Sterilization Japan Podcast

Disability News Japan Podcast: Twenty-Six Prefectures in Japan ‘blacked out’ Information on Former Eugenic Protection Law Victims

In response to a Japanese Diet investigation into the issue of forced sterilization of persons with disabilities under the former Eugenic Protection Law (1948-96), 26 prefectures submitted ‘blacked out’ documents to the Japanese Diet, according to an interview with the Research Bureau of the House of Representatives and local governments.

by Michael Gillan Peckitt August 20, 2023 1
Disability Eugenics Forced Sterilization Japan

Twenty-Six Prefectures in Japan ‘blacked out’ Information on Former Eugenics Protection Law Victims

In response to a Japanese Diet investigation into the issue of forced sterilization of persons with disabilities under the former Eugenic Protection Law (1948-96), 26 prefectures submitted ‘blacked out’ documents to the Japanese Diet, according to an interview with the Research Bureau of the House of Representatives and local governments.

by Michael Gillan Peckitt June 29, 2023 Number of comments0
Disability Eugenics Forced Sterilization Hokkaido Japan

Forced Sterilization of People with Disabilities in Hokkaido: A Brief Timeline

Between 1948 and 1996, Japan’s eugenics law authorized the sterilization of people with intellectual disabilities, mental illnesses or hereditary disorders to prevent the birth of “inferior” offspring. About 25,000 people with disabilities were sterilized under the law, including around 16,500 who were operated on without their consent, according to government data. A number of the court cases were filed and heard in the Sapporo District Court in Hokkaido.