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The Japanese government and people who were forced to undergo sterilization surgeries from the 1950s to the 1970s under a now-defunct eugenics protection law settled their lawsuits on Friday, following a recent ruling by Japan's top court that deemed the law unconstitutional.
Under the agreement signed by the government and the plaintiffs, the state will pay 15 million yen ($106,000) in compensation to each victim of forced sterilization surgery, considered by many to be the worst human rights violation in Japan's post-World War II history.
Separately, a cross-party group of lawmakers on Friday proposed paying 15 million yen to each victim of forced sterilization surgery who did not join the lawsuit.
The law permitted the sterilization of people with intellectual disabilities, mental illnesses, or hereditary disorders without their consent, aiming to prevent more "inferior" traits from entering the gene pool.
In its landmark ruling in early July, the Supreme Court said that the statute of limitations of 20 years for an unlawful act does not apply to cases involving the eugenics law.
Following the...