Japan Govt, Plaintiffs Sign Deal on Forced Sterilization Suits

Tokyo, Sept. 13 (Jiji Press)--The Japanese government and plaintiffs on Friday signed an agreement to settle a series of damages lawsuits over forced sterilizations conducted under the now-defunct eugenic protection law.

The agreement includes compensation payments by the government and an official apology to the victims. It came over six years after the first of the forced sterilization lawsuits was filed in January 2018.

Under the deal, the government will pay 15 million yen in damages to each forced sterilization victim, as well as cover their legal fees.

If an individual who underwent forced sterilization and a spouse are both plaintiffs of the lawsuits, the country will pay 13 million yen to the forced sterilization victim and 2 million yen to the spouse in damages, as well as pay for the legal fees of both people.

The agreement covers 19 plaintiffs of pending lawsuits across the country.

[Copyright The Jiji Press, Ltd.]