Most of the data that could prove the harm has been discarded. The victims are growing older. Creation of a framework for their relief should be expedited with political leadership.
On the basis of the now-defunct Eugenic Protection Law, mentally disabled people and others were forced to undergo sterilization operations. The Health, Labor and Welfare Ministry has now launched a fact-finding survey on the damage. The ministry will make a broad investigation of related data, including records of the examining committees of Tokyo and other prefectural governments that judged whether surgeries were advisable, as well as notices issued by the central government.
The government had been reluctant even to investigate, let alone give relief, on the grounds that they "were lawful operations back then." It is of great significance that the ministry has embarked on the investigation, albeit belatedly.
Initially, the ministry planned an investigation covering only Tokyo and other prefectural governments. Upon requests from the ruling parties' working team tasked with discussing relief measures, however, the ministry decided to expand the scope of the investigation, also covering municipal governments of cities, towns and villages, as well as medical institutions and facilities for disabled people. The actual state of affairs back then should be brought to light as much as possible.
Thanks to news media requests for public disclosure, it is becoming clear that there were instances in which local governments approved the operations without holding actual meetings of their examination committees but instead merely forwarding documents from member to member. It is also emerging that there were cases in which they managed to obtain the consent of hesitant parents by repeatedly urging them to approve the operations.
Flexible stance needed
The objective of the defunct law was to "prevent the birth of inferior offspring." The former Health and Welfare Ministry, in its notice at the time, stressed its position that the forced operations did not conflict with the principles of the Constitution, which guarantees the rights of the people, including one to the pursuit of happiness, and urged Tokyo and other prefectural governments to conduct the operations.
The law also stated that forced operations were permitted even if the person in question refused the operation, even approving physical restraint when it was deemed inevitable. As a result, about 25,000 men and women underwent sterilizations. Of the total, about 16,500 cases were conducted without the consent of the people themselves.
It may be gathered from these facts that the eugenics philosophy had deeply taken root. Behind this was a lack of understanding and apathy in society.
The issue came to the surface after a woman in her 60s from Miyagi Prefecture filed in January a suit demanding national reparations. In mid-May, similar cases are expected to be brought to three courts, including one in Tokyo, all at once.
The biggest stumbling block for the lawsuits is that there are many cases in which records that could identify the individuals have been discarded. In Tokyo and other prefectural governments, relevant data on only about 20 percent of those who were forced to undergo operations has been kept.
The Miyagi prefectural government has indicated a policy of recognizing the fact of the operations, if certain conditions are fulfilled, such as evidence of a surgical scar or the testimony of a person concerned. Other prefectural and local governments should deal with the issue in a flexible stance.
The ruling parties' working team, in cooperation with a nonpartisan group of lawmakers, will aim at submitting a legislator-drafted bill for relief measures to an ordinary Diet session next year.
Lawsuits can take a long time to resolve. The victims are growing old and have disabilities, and there are also many who have difficulty in taking legal steps themselves. The best method would be a political solution that gives the relief to the victims swiftly and broadly.
(From The Yomiuri Shimbun, May 1, 2018)
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