TAIPEI (Taiwan News)— It has been 23 years since the controversial National Eugenic Law was abolished and now the Japanese government has finally agreed to offer compensation to the survivors of compulsory sterilization and abortion.

 

Japan’s parliament passed a bill last week (April 24) to compensate thousands of victims who were forced to undergo an abortion or sterilization. The compensation sum is 3.2 million yen, or about NT$886,000 (US$28,700),

 

According to The Guardian, from 1948 to 1996, approximately 16,500 women, mostly with disabilities, were targeted by the government to terminate their pregnancy. The fear was they would give birth to “inferior” children.

 

The report added that about 25,000 people were sterilized under the eugenic law during this time. Many of those who underwent surgery did not know the purpose of the surgery and about 16,500 of them did not give consent.

 

Prime Minister Shinzo Abe apologized on behalf of the government. In his statement, Abe said the government would make efforts to “realize a society in which people can coexist, regardless of disease or disability,” according to The New York Times.

 

Many of the victims expressed dissatisfaction toward the government. Katsunori Fujii, chairman of the Japan Council on Disability, told New York Times the compensation was inadequate compared to the suffering victims endured, especially those who lost their reproductive capacity.

 

An Asahi Shimbun editorial in March described the then proposed bill as “falling far short of its objective of providing satisfactory relief to victims.” Compensation requests can be made within the next five years and will be subject to approval by a board of “experts,” according to Reuters.