For The First Time, Japanese Court Orders Compensation For Forced Sterilization

Ikustrasi palu hakim. (Pixabay / MiamiAccidentLawyer)

JAKARTA - A Japanese court on Tuesday two weeks ago ordered the state to compensate three people with disabilities for forced sterilization under a now-defunct eugenics protection law, providing damages for the first time among similar charges brought against nine courts and their branches throughout Japan.

The Osaka High Court told the central government to pay a total of 27.5 million yen, or about IDR 3,428,599,190, in damages to three people in western Japan, a couple and a woman in their 70s and 80s, recognizing the law. eugenics as unconstitutional.

The couple had hearing loss and the wife underwent forced sterilization in 1974. Meanwhile, other women with intellectual disabilities did so around 1965.

Several Japanese courts have previously highlighted the law's unconstitutionality, but claims for damages have been rejected on the grounds that the statute of limitations had expired 20 years after the forced operation. The trio asked for a combined compensation of 55 million yen.

The plaintiffs argued that the clock on the statute of limitations should not start ticking when the operation was carried out because at that time it was very difficult for them to recognize the illegality of the law and sue the government.

The Osaka High Court ruled in their favor, saying the statute of limitations should not be applied because it was "totally against justice and fairness."

The ruling noted that the plaintiffs took a long time to sue the state because it was very difficult for them to access the necessary information, due to social prejudice and discrimination.

Calling the eugenics law 'inhumane and discriminatory', the court also accused lawmakers of negligence for enacting it.

Welfare Minister Shigeyuki Goto said the high court's ruling was 'very hard' for the country because his claim was rejected. Meanwhile, Chief Cabinet Secretary Hirokazu Matsuno said the government would consider whether to appeal to the Supreme Court after reviewing the decision.

It is known, plaintiffs across Japan are very happy with the decision, and asked the government to apologize.

"This is good. This is a decision in favor of the victims," said the plaintiff's brother-in-law from Miyagi Prefecture in northeastern Japan, who was the first to sue the state for forced sterilization in 2018, according to Kyodo News February 22.

"Our lives have been totally ruined. It's not about money. With this ruling, I want the government to bow down in front of all the victims and apologize," said a representative for a group of victims and their families, who uses the pseudonym Saburo Kita.

"Riding this momentum, I want my case and others to win," the 78-year-old said. A verdict on his case is scheduled to be handed down in March by the Tokyo High Court.

To note, between 1948 and 1996, the Eugenics Act authorized the sterilization of people with intellectual disabilities, mental illnesses, or hereditary disorders, in order to prevent the birth of 'inferior' offspring.

About 25,000 people with disabilities are sterilized under the law, including about 16,500 who had the operation without their consent, according to government data.

After ignoring the issue for years, Japan's parliament passed a law in April 2019 to pay 3.2 million yen in state compensation to everyone undergoing forced sterilization. However, the numbers are uniform, getting different reactions.

Critics called it too small compared to the trauma experienced by those who underwent surgery, as well as ignoring the suffering of partners. They also criticized the government for not clearly specifying its responsibilities for implementing the law.

As of the end of January, the government had authorized lump sum payments to 966 people, according to the Ministry of Welfare.

In 1994, a Japanese woman with a disability called for the abolition of the law at the International Conference on Population and Development held in Egypt, which became the catalyst for its abolition two years later.