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- Japan’s government has issued an apology and awarded compensation under a redress legislation to thousands of people with disabilities who were forcibly sterilised under the now defunct Eugenics Protection Law.
- Eugenics Protection Law was enacted in 1948 and was in place until 1996. The law aimed to prevent the birth of poor-quality descendants. The law allowed doctors to sterilize people with disabilities.
- In 1996, the law was renamed as the Maternity Protection Law in 1996, when the discriminatory condition was removed.
- Japan’s government had until recently maintained that the sterilisations were legal at the time. The current redress legislation and apology comes after a series of lawsuits by victims seeking compensation from the government.
- Germany and Sweden also had similar sterilization measures, but have since apologised to victims and provided compensation.
