TOKYO, March 1 (Xinhua) -- A joint bill to be submitted to the Diet and come into effect in April was finalized between Japan's ruling and opposition parties Friday, which will seek to compensate victims of forced sterilization under Japan's past eugenics law.

The bill mandates that reparations starting at 3 million yen (27,000 U.S. dollars) will be paid to each of the victims and an apology offered for the government's highly-controversial, forcible sterilization of thousands of people between 1948-1996 under the now-defunct eugenics protection law.

The bill begins with an introduction that states: "We sincerely reflect on and deeply apologize for the great physical and mental suffering that was inflicted."

But the statement has been criticized by plaintiffs, victims and legal entities representing them as there is no incontrovertible mention of the state and its culpability.

Numerous lawsuits have been filed against the government seeking compensation for claims they were forcibly sterilized or forced to have abortions under the nation's former eugenics protection law.

The plaintiffs in the suits have claimed that being sterilized against their will or without their consent runs contrary to their constitutional rights and the Japanese government has since provided no requital or support.

The number of plaintiffs in sterilization lawsuits against the government has been steadily rising, with the plaintiffs claiming that being forcibly sterilized under the eugenics law deprived them of their constitutional right in some cases to choose whether or not to have children.

The controversial law, similar to Nazi Germany's sterilization law and enacted as a population control measure to deal with the nation's postwar food shortage, made it possible for the state to sterilize thousands of people without their consent, due to mental disabilities and other illnesses.

According to the Ministry of Health, Labor and Welfare and the Japan Federation of Bar Associations, until the eugenics law was removed in 1996, out of a total of 25,000 people who were sterilized for reasons of mental disabilities and other illnesses, 16,500 people were sterilized without giving their prior consent.

Despite the current legislative plans to pay reparations, the Japanese government has maintained that the sterilizations conducted under the eugenics law at the time were legal and as such it was not "obliged" to pay compensation to people who were sterilized.

A local court responsible for adjudicating in one high-profile case of forced sterilization found that it was possible that Japan's eugenics law was indeed constitutionally unsound.

This may account for the government's about-turn on the sensitive issue, experts on the issue said Friday, while calling on the government to meet the victims' wishes of fully admitting its culpability. Enditem

Related

Go to Forum >>0 Comment(s)