今日は大きな判決がありました。
旧優生保護法（1948～96年）で不妊手術を強制されたのは憲法違反だとして，障害者らが国に損害賠償を求めた訴訟の上告審において，最高裁大法廷は旧法を「違憲」とした上で，国に賠償を命じる判決を言い渡しました。
Japan top court orders government to pay damages over forced sterilization
Japan's Supreme Court on Wednesday ordered the government to pay damages to plaintiffs who were forced to undergo sterilization surgery in the 1950s to 1970s under a now-defunct eugenics protection law, in the first top court ruling on the issue.
In approving the plaintiffs' claims, the Supreme Court found the law unconstitutional and judged the statute of limitations of 20 years for an unlawful act does not apply to cases involving the eugenics law, which was in effect between 1948 and 1996.
The plaintiffs, who filed lawsuits at five district courts in Sapporo, Sendai, Tokyo, Osaka and Kobe, were among a total of 39 people who have sought damages in similar lawsuits at 11 district courts and a branch court since 2018, more than 20 years after they underwent surgery.
The focus of the latest ruling was whether the top court would apply the statute of limitations after four of the high courts awarded damages to the plaintiffs, saying invoking it would be "grossly unjust."
The fifth high court, in Sendai, did apply the statute of limitations in ruling against the plaintiffs. All five high courts said the law was unconstitutional.
The law allowed the sterilization of people with intellectual disabilities, mental illnesses or hereditary disorders even without their consent to prevent the birth of "inferior" offspring.
Under the law, about 25,000 people were sterilized, 16,000 of them without consent, according to government data.
The government argued that the plaintiffs can no longer seek damages due to the passing of the 20-year statute of limitations.
A law was enacted in April 2019 to pay 3.2 million yen ($20,000) in state compensation to each person who underwent forced sterilization, with around 1,100 certified to receive the money. But there has been much criticism over the uniform amount.
https://english.kyodonews.net/news/2024/07/a016e40a84d3-update1-japan-top-court-orders-govt-to-pay-damages-over-forced-sterilization.html
旧優生保護法は，優生学（Eugenics）に基づく考え方で，あのヒットラーが採用したバカな発想によるもの。それが今になってやっと国の過ちを認める判決を下したわけです。
"the idea that it is possible to improve humans by allowing only particular people to produce children, which most people now do not accept or support because of the idea's connection with racist and Nazi theories and actions:
Eugenics is a philosophy rather than a science. There was concern that genetic profiling might lead to a form of eugenics, in which parents are told which children they can bring into the world."
https://english.kyodonews.net/news/2024/07/a016e40a84d3-update1-japan-top-court-orders-govt-to-pay-damages-over-forced-sterilization.html
私のニックネームはEugeneですが，優生法にはどことなく反感がありました。（UG）