TokyocTypeface:> Japan’s Supreme Court ruled on Wednesday that a now repealed sterilization law under which thousands of people were forcibly made infertile is unconstitutional.
The court has also awarded compensation to a group of plaintiffs who had to undergo sterilization surgery many years ago, the Japanese news agency Kyodo reported.
The court found that the plaintiffs’ compensation claims were not subject to a statute of limitations as the law was unconstitutional. It was unacceptable for the state to apply such a time limit in this case.
The judgement is considered groundbreaking as it may have an impact on current and future lawsuits relating to the so-called Eugenic Protection Act, which was in force in Japan from 1948 to 1996.
It was primarily aimed at people with mental disabilities or disorders and hereditary diseases. According to official figures, around 25,000 people were sterilized under the law, at least 16,000 of them without their consent. Kyodo reported that the country’s highest court had now categorized the law as unconstitutional for the first time. (DPA)
