The ruling brings to an end a decades-long fight for justice by victims who were forcibly sterilised.
  • Flying Squid@lemmy.worldMEnglish
    38·
    5 months ago

    Damn, this article takes you places. First it talks about what happened in WWII, which is horrific, but not surprising. Then it says that the law wasn’t repealed until 1996 and because of that-

    Forced sterilisations were most prevalent in the 1960s and 1970s, during the post-war baby boom. Many of those forcibly sterilised had physical and intellectual disabilities, mental health problems or chronic diseases such as leprosy.

    Physical restraint, anaesthesia and even “deception” were allowed for these operations, according to a government notice in 1953.

    They interview someone who was just 12 when it was done to them.

  • 1Fuji2Taka3Nasubi@lemmy.zipOPEnglish
    29·
    5 months ago
    • One of the government’s justification for the practice was “It was lawful at the time”. Now the Supreme Court ruled the law was never constitutional.
    • The Supreme Court also decided that “statute of limitations” does not apply so plaintiffs can still seek compensation.

    Japanese source

  • AutoTL;DR@lemmings.worldBEnglish
    5·
    5 months ago

    This is the best summary I could come up with:

    Although authorities claim the 8,500 other people consented to the procedures, lawyers have said they were “de facto forced” into surgery because of the pressure they faced at the time.

    On Wednesday, the Supreme Court also ruled that a 20-year statute of limitations could not be applied to compensation claims in forced sterilisation cases.

    Lawyers had argued that the statute had meant that some victims, especially those who had been sterilised without their knowledge, had learnt of the surgery too late to meet the legal deadline.

    Many of those forcibly sterilised had physical and intellectual disabilities, mental health problems or chronic diseases such as leprosy.Physical restraint, anaesthesia and even “deception” were allowed for these operations, according to a government notice in 1953.

    “From here, I believe that the government must take a hard turn and move forward at full speed toward a full-fledged resolution,” said lawyer Yutaka Yoshiyama, who represented two of the plaintiffs.

    It broke my heart," Yumi Suzuki, who was born with cerebral palsy and forcibly sterilised when she was just 12, told the BBC in a 2021 interview.The 68-year-old is among the 11 plaintiffs whose cases were brought to the court on Wednesday.

    The original article contains 560 words, the summary contains 196 words. Saved 65%. I’m a bot and I’m open source!

    • RubberDuck@lemmy.worldEnglish
      5·
      5 months ago

      Yeah, governments, employers, all who hold power over others love to say people voluntarily agreed. But this is what it means to be voluntold.