First settlement reached for forced sterilization plaintiff in Japan

A court-mediated settlement was reached Wednesday between the state and a Tokyo plaintiff in a forced sterilization case — the first among dozens of lawsuits filed nationwide — following a top court ruling in July that the now-defunct eugenics protection law was unconstitutional.

Sumiko Nishi, a 77-year-old resident in the city of Hino in western Tokyo, filed the lawsuit in 2022 over a hysterectomy she was forced to undergo in 1960 at the age of 14 because she has cerebral palsy.

According to Nishi’s lawyer, the state agreed to pay ¥16.5 million ($108,000) — the same amount awarded to plaintiffs in the Supreme Court case. In addition, the government will send out a notice to local governments on Thursday saying the settlements won’t be considered as income for those who are receiving welfare benefits.

The settlement was reached at the Tokyo District Court despite the fact judges were supposed to be on summer break. According to the plaintiff’s lawyer, it is very rare for judges to come to a decision during this time, signifying that they wanted to expedite the...