Eugenic sterilizations in Japan and recent demands for an apology: a report.

In Japan, a "eugenic" law permitted involuntary sterilization o f people with intellectual or mental disability from 1948 to 1996. More than 16,500 women and men were sterilized against their will. On September 16, 1997, 17 civic groups, representing women and people with disability, and dozens of interested persons demanded from the Minister o f Health and Welfare an apology, compensation, and investigation, but the Ministry refused with the excuse that these sterilizations were legal at that time.