A woman from Kumamoto, Japan, has broken nearly 40 years of silence to share her painful story of being forcibly sterilized under Japan’s now-defunct Eugenic Protection Law.
Speaking softly, 67-year-old Shizuka Fujieda recalled that when she was 27, she was hospitalized after giving birth to her second child — and without her consent, her parents and doctors arranged for a sterilization procedure. “Seven days after the surgery, my parents told me the truth,” she said. “They said I would never be able to have children again. The sense of inferiority I felt still echoes in my heart.”
According to Kumamoto Broadcasting, Japan’s National Diet began an official investigation on October 1 to uncover the truth and prevent similar incidents from happening again. Earlier this year, in July 2024, Japan’s Supreme Court ruled that the Eugenic Protection Law was unconstitutional and ordered the government to compensate victims — a landmark decision that gave survivors like Fujieda new courage to speak up.
Fujieda’s story dates back to her youth. Diagnosed with cerebral palsy as a child, she married at 22 and gave birth to two children. Because her eldest son was born with a hereditary disorder, her parents — fearing another child might inherit the same condition — secretly asked doctors to perform a sterilization on her during another medical procedure. The operation was legal at the time under the old Eugenic Protection Law, which allowed forced sterilization of people with disabilities or genetic conditions without their consent. The law was not repealed until 1996, and it’s estimated that more than 25,000 people were affected nationwide.
For decades, Fujieda locked her feelings away, never speaking of what happened. The 2024 Supreme Court ruling became a turning point. “I realized it wasn’t my parents’ fault — they were also victims of the law. Without that law, neither they nor the doctor would have done such a thing,” she said. Initially, she could only attend court hearings as a “supporter,” unable to identify as a “victim.” But with her family’s encouragement, she finally found the strength to testify publicly.
In front of more than 300 attendees, Fujieda expressed the sorrow that haunted her for nearly four decades: “Since my forced sterilization in my 20s, I’ve kept my heart locked away, deep under the sea. I’ve lived with regret and sadness ever since.”
Her message, however, was one of empowerment: “We were once labeled by the old Eugenic Protection Law as people who shouldn’t exist. But we are not unwanted. We are not weak. Together, we are strong.”
She ended her speech with a vision for the future — a message that resonated deeply across Japan: “I hope we can build a society where every life is celebrated at birth — a society where everyone is truly valued.”
