July 4, Thursday, 2024

1. Japan’s Supreme Court has ruled for the first time that the country’s defunct Eugenic Protection Law, which forced people with impairments to undergo sterilization surgery, is unconstitutional. People who were forcibly sterilized had filed lawsuits across Japan, arguing that the discriminatory treatment was unconstitutional and seeking state compensation. Presiding justice Tokura Saburo declared the defunct law unconstitutional and ordered compensation in four of the cases.
2. Japan’s top government spokesperson has revealed three more cases of alleged sexual violence involving US military personnel. Chief Cabinet Secretary Hayashi Yoshimasa spoke to reporters on Wednesday after two alleged sexual assault cases in Okinawa Prefecture came to light. 3. Japan issued new banknotes for the first time in 20 years on Wednesday. A ceremony was held in the morning at the head office of the Bank of Japan in Tokyo’s Nihonbashi. BOJ Governor Ueda Kazuo said that the bank plans to put 1.5 trillion yen, or about 9.9 billion dollars, worth of new banknotes into circulation on the day. He said that while cashless transactions are becoming more prevalent, he believes that cash will continue to play a major role as it is a reliable payment method that can be used by anyone, anywhere and at any time. Ueda added he hopes that the new notes will become widely distributed among the public and serve as a lubricant for the Japanese economy.