Two nine-year-olds were among the 25,000 people forcibly sterilised in Japan under its post-World War Two eugenics law, a parliament report, according to the BBC, has revealed.
The law, in place for 48 years, forced people to undergo operations to prevent them having children deemed "inferior". Many of them had physical or cognitive disabilities, or mental illness, BBC said.
The law is widely recognised as a dark chapter in Japan's post-war recovery and was repealed in 1996.
On Monday, parliament released a long-awaited 1,400-page study, based on a government investigation which began in June 2020, BBC added.
According to The Guardian, the 1,400-page report, submitted to parliament this week, details how, between 1948 and 1996, about 16,500 people were operated on without their consent under the law, which aimed to “prevent the birth of poor-quality descendants … and to protect the life and health of the mother”. Most of the victims were women.
Another 8,000 other people gave their consent – almost certainly under pressure – while almost 60,000 women had abortions because of hereditary illnesses.
The two nine-year-olds who were sterilised were a boy and a girl, the report said.
Campaigners have reacted angrily to the government report, The Guardian said.