National Hygiene and “Inferior Offspring”: Japan’s Eugenics Victims Demand Justice
TOKYO – The Japanese government is promising to pursue a nationwide study of a nearly 50-year policy of forced sterilizations, vasectomies and abortions that sought to eliminate disabled people from society by preventing the birth of “inferior offspring.”
Known as the Eugenic Protection Law, the inhumane policy was introduced in 1948 under U.S. military occupation before coming to an end in 1996. It drew inspiration from similar legislation in Nazi Germany that hoped to manage the country’s “racial hygiene” through population quality control measures.
