Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida apologized to victims who were forced to undergo sterilization because of their disabilities.
According to Kyodo News and public broadcaster NHK on the 17th, Prime Minister Kishida met with the disabled victims at the Prime Minister's Official Residence in the afternoon and said, "The government's responsibility for enforcing the law is very serious," adding, "I sincerely apologize and offer my apologies on behalf of the government."
The meeting took place after Japan's Supreme Court, equivalent to South Korea's Supreme Court, on the 3rd finalized a ruling that the law forcing sterilization on disabled people for about 50 years after World War II was unconstitutional.
Prime Minister Kishida emphasized that the forced sterilization was "an unacceptable human rights violation that infringes on individual dignity." He also said, "I have instructed to quickly reach a conclusion on new compensation while discussing with the Diet," adding that the compensation would be sufficient and appropriate in amount.
Furthermore, he withdrew the government's previous claim that the statute of limitations for claiming damages for illegal acts would expire after 20 years. He also said that expanding the scope of compensation to include victims' spouses and others would be considered.
The victims handed a petition to Prime Minister Kishida urging the prompt enactment of compensation-related legislation and the implementation of victim verification to prevent recurrence.
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