Japan Press Weekly

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2024 August 21 - 27 [SOCIAL ISSUES]

Tamura calls for compensation far higher than top court ruling provided to forced sterilization victims

Japanese Communist Party Executive Committee Chair Tamura Tomoko on August 22 at a press conference in the Diet building said that the JCP will make utmost efforts to realize measures to provide state compensation far higher than that indicated in the Supreme Cout ruling to victims who had been forced to receive eugenic sterilization under the former Eugenic Protection Law (1948-1996).

Those measures were called for by the forced sterilization victims and their lawyers two days earlier at a meeting of the JCP task force working to fully resolve issues associated with the eugenic-based discriminatory law, according to Tamura.

Stressing that not only forced sterilization victims but also their spouses suffered “lifelong damages”, Tamura said that it is a matter of course for them to obtain “compensation exceeding the level of the top court ruling.”

Tamura noted that the cross-party parliamentarians’ group on the forced sterilization issue began discussing a new law, the replacement of the current law on relief measures. She said that in this regard, it is necessary for the Diet to hear the opinions of the victims and their lawyers. She also said that in order to eliminate eugenic ideology, the Diet should face up to the fact that it had approved legislation which constitutes a grave violation of the Constitution and should set up a forum for discussion with the victims.

Pointing to the fact that as the forced sterilization victims are aging, it is necessary to establish new measures as soon as possible, Tamura said that the JCP will push the Diet to start discussions on this matter as soon as possible.

Past related article:
> Supreme court rules forced sterilization unconstitutional, ordering gov’t to compensate victims [July 4, 2024]