• Regional courts have mostly agreed in recent years that the eugenics law constituted a violation of Japan’s constitution

TOKYO: Japan’s top court ruled on Wednesday that a defunct eugenics law under which around 16,500 people were forcibly sterilised between 1948 and 1996 was unconstitutional, local media reported.

Another 8,500 people were sterilised with their consent, according to authorities, although lawyers say even those cases were likely “de facto forced” because of the pressure individuals faced.

AFP