A Japanese woman in her 60s yesterday sued the government over her forced sterilisation as a teenager under a now-defunct eugenics law
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A Japanese woman in her 60s yesterday sued the government over her forced sterilisation as a teenager under a now-defunct eugenics law. The woman, whose name was not given, was 15 when the government forced her to undergo a sterilisation procedure in 1972 after she was diagnosed with a mental disability, local media reported.
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She is reportedly seeking 11 million yen ($100,000) in damages, saying the state failed to offer relief measures while seriously violating her human rights under the law, which remained in force until 1996.
The lawsuit was filed on Monday, said a court spokesman. Some 16,000 people were forcibly sterilised under the notorious eugenics law, according to the Japanese bar association. The government is prepared to have talks individually with those who need support, but "has no plans to offer blanket measures" to all victims of forced sterilisation, said a health ministry official in charge of the issue.
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