Anger in Japan as report reveals children were forcibly sterilised

June 22, 2023 1:04 AM

Between 1948 and 1996, about 16,500 people were operated on without their consent under a eugenics law, triggering long campaign for redress
posted by brundlefly (2 comments total)

1996. The rest of it I've heard before, about how a society decides what makes someone "more fit," which coincidentally always lines up with what the current societal expectations are, with disgusting and predictable damage and pain. But the fact that this was still happening in 1996? After Japan had hit a birthrate of 1.42 children per woman (I'm not sure how they defined woman at the time, but given how resistant to change from the imported Victorian beliefs Japan has been, I'm going to assume the most regressive and keep going). When they were bemoaning how they needed more children.

Beyond the pain and the heartbreak that eugenics caused and causes, the arrogance and short sightedness just astounds me.

I hope these victims get real compensation. I hope that this gets wide traction. And I hope that the next time there's any mention of Japan's low birth rate, someone stands up and says "you did this to yourselves." I guarantee that the vast majority of the arrogant shits who enacted this and preformed those surgeries feel no regret or remorse. But they might, just might, feel something, if they're accused, in small part, of helping to shrink the Japanese population.

(I also assume that like sterilization in the US, this was disproportionally used on minorities (in Japan it would be the the Ainu, the Okinawans, and those with Korean descent, rather than the non-white, but the action is the same). And I fear there is no way to shame those who authorized and performed those operations. But the others, there's some hope.)

I wish I was surprised. But the only thing that surprises me is how long it continued. I'm saddened and disgusted, but not really surprised.
posted by Hactar at 3:16 AM on June 22, 2023 [16 favorites]

Fucking 1996. Fucking eugenics. Like Hactar said so eloquently: saddened and disgusted, but not surprised. I wish I was more surprised.

My heart goes out to the people who want redress for this crime.
posted by harriet vane at 7:56 AM on June 29, 2023