Japanese Court Demands Compensation for Forced Sterilization 

24-02-2022 

Malina Wiethaus

Japan and Human Rights Researcher 

Global Human Rights Defence 

On Tuesday the 22nd of February, a Japanese court ordered the state to pay damages to three people with disabilities who had to undergo forced sterilization under the now inoperative “Eugenics Protection Law”. This was the first time the Japanese court awarded damages to plaintiffs, even though similar suits have been filed before (Kyodo, 2022). 

The “Eugenics Protection Law'' prevented people with disabilities from having children by forcing sterilization on people with disabilities. In AUgust 2021, it was condemned as unconstitutional by a Japanese court. Yet, Japanese courts refused to order monetary compensation sought by five plaintiffs at the time. Moreover, the law forced people with disabilities to abort children in a case of pregnancy. Others were forced to undergo sterilization at ages as young as 12 years old (Kyodo News, 2021). 

This week, the Osaka Higher Court ordered the Japanese government to pay 27.5 million yen to three plaintiffs. The ruling took so long due to the problems the plaintiffs faced in retrieving information crucial to building their cases. The difficulties were mainly due to stigmatization ad discrimination. This court decision marks a milestone in recognizing that the Japanese government destroyed the victims' lives by forcing sterilization on them. Some victims say: This is not about money. With this verdict, I want the government to bow in front of all victims and apologize” (Kyodo, 2022). 

Sources and further readings: 

Kyodo. (2022, February 23). Japanese court orders damages over forced sterilization for first 

time. Japan Today. Retrieved February 24, 2022, from 

https://japantoday.com/category/national/japan-court-orders-damages-over-forced-ster

ilization-for-first-time

KYODO NEWS. (2021a, January 15). Court rules defunct eugenics law unconstitutional, 

denies damages. Retrieved February 24, 2022, from 

https://english.kyodonews.net/news/2021/01/aa2dbcb4e86c-court-rules-defunct-eugen

ics-law-unconstitutional-denies-damages.html

KYODO NEWS. (2021b, August 3). Japan court rules defunct eugenics law 

unconstitutional, denies damages. Retrieved February 24, 2022, from 

https://english.kyodonews.net/news/2021/08/a6192eed60c4-court-rules-defunct-eugen

ics-law-unconstitutional-denies-damages.html