In a lawsuit in which five people from Hyogo Prefecture sought compensation from the national government for being forced to undergo sterilization under the former Eugenic Protection Law, the Osaka High Court in the second instance ordered the government to pay compensation, contrary to the judgment of the first instance that rejected the lawsuit. This is the seventh court judgment that has recognized the state's liability for compensation.

A total of five people, two couples living in Hyogo Prefecture, both deaf and one woman with physical disabilities due to congenital cerebral palsy, filed a lawsuit against the government for compensation,
claiming that they were forced to undergo sterilization under the former Eugenic Protection Law in
the 2s and 1s, depriving them of their right to bear and
raise children.

The Kobe District Court in the first instance rejected the lawsuit filed 5 years after sterilization, arguing that the right to claim compensation had expired, and the plaintiffs had appealed, although the former Eugenic Protection Law violated the Constitution.

In the second trial ruling on the 23rd, Osaka High Court Chief Judge Kenji Nakagakiuchi pointed out that the former Eugenic Protection Law is extremely inhumane because it "considers people with specific disabilities and diseases to be 'defective' and deprives them of the opportunity to make decisions to give birth and raise children through surgery that makes reproductive function irreversible," and that it is clearly unconstitutional.

On top of that, the government ruled that "the application of the 'exclusion period' in which the right to seek compensation is extinguished should be limited" on the grounds that it had encouraged discrimination and prejudice, and ordered the government to pay two couples and one woman 1.2 million yen each, for a total of 1.1650 million yen, contrary to the first trial.

In similar cases that have been filed nationwide, since the Osaka High Court granted the appeal for the first time in a separate trial in February last year, judicial decisions ordering the government to compensate all but one case have continued, and this is the seventh case, and all appeals have been accepted at the high court stage in the second trial.

One of the plaintiffs: "I was waiting for this day and I felt calm."

Following the ruling, the plaintiffs held a press conference.

One of the plaintiffs, 1-year-old Kobayashi Hoji, who is deaf, said via a sign language interpreter, "I've been waiting for this day, and I'm really glad that the verdict was right. Now I feel calmer."

On top of that, they filed a lawsuit together, and told the results to his wife, Kimiko, who passed away in June last year, and said that they would like to celebrate together.

One of the plaintiffs, Yumi Suzuki, 91, of Kobe City, who is disabled due to congenital cerebral palsy, said, "I was really happy with the good ruling. The wounds of the body may disappear, but the wounds of the mind do not. I want the government to apologize quickly and say that it was wrong."

Seigo Fujiwara, the head of the plaintiffs' defense team, said, "The starting point for the government is to stop the fight, meet with the victims properly, and apologize. The government has created a society in which people with disabilities live with a burden. The issue of eugenic protection is not over."

Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare "Scrutinizing the contents of the judgment and responding appropriately"

Regarding the Osaka High Court's ruling, the Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare commented, "We recognize that the government's claim was not recognized, and we will respond appropriately after scrutinizing the content of the judgment and consulting with the relevant ministries and agencies."

The thoughts of the plaintiff couple are

[My dream of "many children, lively and fun home"]

Kobayashi Toji (91) of Akashi City, Hyogo Prefecture, who is suing him, and his wife Kimiko, who died last year at the age of 89, said their dream was to have many children and build a lively and fun family.
In 1960, the two, both deaf, met in a matchmaking and soon married.
About three months later, I found out that Kimiko was pregnant.



However, Kimiko was taken to the hospital shortly after, where her mother told her that her baby was rotten.
Without any detailed explanation, she was suddenly forced to have an abortion.
When Hoji's mother found out she was pregnant, she consulted with Kimiko's mother and had her undergo surgery.
Kobayashi said, "When Kimiko came home and asked, 'What's wrong?' she said, 'I don't really know,' and when I looked at her tummy, I saw a scar of about 15 centimeters. What is this?' But I wasn't sure. Later, when I met my mother, she told me not to have children, which made me very angry. When I said, 'Why shouldn't I give birth?' my mother didn't answer. Kimiko was just crying."

["Forced sterilization was discovered 58 years later"]

Why was Kimiko forced to undergo surgery?
The reason for this was that in 2018, a woman in her 60s in Miyagi Prefecture filed the first lawsuit in Japan to the Sendai District Court, claiming that she was forced to undergo sterilization under the former Eugenic Protection Law and deprived of the right to bear and raise children.
Kimiko thought that she might have been harmed, and when she had a specialist doctor examine her, she found out that she was apparently forced to undergo sterilization.
That year, he filed a lawsuit with the Kobe District Court seeking damages from the government.
At the time, Kimiko expressed her determination.
"It is important that society change through the trials, and it is not just a problem for those of us who filed the lawsuit. In his statement at the trial,
he said, "It's been about 60 years since the surgery, but the sadness still continues. We cannot tolerate discrimination that inflicts such suffering."

Kobe District Court dismisses lawsuit due to time barrier after exclusion period]

However, the Kobe District Court in the first instance ruled that the former Eugenic Protection Law violated the Constitution and rejected the lawsuit on the grounds that more than 20 years had passed since the sterilization operation and that the "exclusion period" had passed, which is the period during which the person was entitled to seek compensation.
Kobayashi and her husband appealed and asked for the government to recognize their liability for compensation in the second trial, but Kimiko died of illness in June last year.

Five

months later, in a statement of opinion held at the Osaka High Court in two trials, Mr. Hoji appealed.
"My wife and I have spent 60 years with the sadness and loneliness of not having children, and she has also passed away of illness, and I am deeply saddened by her death. Please understand my feelings and make a correct verdict."

About four and a half years have passed since the lawsuit was filed, and two of the five plaintiffs, including Kimiko, have died.

Recently, Mr. Hoji has been getting sick more and more, and I hope that the government will recognize his liability for compensation as soon as possible.