Japan has presented a proposal to settle damages lawsuits over forced sterilization conducted under the now-defunct eugenic protection law by paying ¥15 million per plaintiff who went through the surgery.
The government and the plaintiff side are expected to reach an official agreement soon, after final coordination.
In the series of lawsuits against the government, the Supreme Court’s Grand Bench last month ruled the government liable to pay compensation, saying that the law was unconstitutional.
Prime Minister Fumio Kishida apologized to victims and announced his intention to settle the suits.
The settlement proposal says that the government will pay ¥15 million in consolation money to each plaintiff forced to undergo sterilization surgery and ¥2 million to each of their spouses.
The proposal also refers to plaintiffs in suits in which the government has already been ordered to pay compensation, saying that the government will pay any difference between the amounts set under the orders and the future compensation to be paid under a planned new law to provide relief to victims.
According to the Justice Ministry, 12 such suits are going on across Japan at four high courts and seven district courts including a district court branch. All these are expected to be settled under the upcoming agreement.