TOKYO – The state is not liable to pay extra compensation to forced sterilization victims once the 20-year statute of limitations expires, a court in Japan has ruled, despite recognizing the defunct eugenics law to be unconstitutional.
Casualties of the draconian ‘Eugenic Protection Law’, which allowed involuntary sterilization of people with disabilities from 1948 to 1996, lost hope for justice on Tuesday after the Sendai District Court ruled out compensation for two victims, claiming that their time limit to take legal action against the state had long expired.
“We’ve been fighting this for 20 years, but this result has left me speechless,” NHK quoted one of the victims, who goes under the alias ‘Junko Iizuka,’ as saying after both plaintiffs rushed out of the courtroom with a banner reading ‘Unfair verdict.’
Iizuka, now in her 70s, underwent sterilization at the age of 16. She and another plaintiff, ‘Yumi Sato’, who was forced to undergo the medical procedure at the age of 15, filed lawsuits last year seeking a combined sum of ¥71.5 million ($650,000) in compensation from the state for violations of their human rights.
SOURCE: RT News
