IJS Lecture: Aiko Takeuchi-Demirci, "The Eugenic Protection Law and the Promotion of Eugenic Marriages in Postwar Japan"

Photo of Aiko Takeuchi-Demirci
November 12, 2020
2:00 pm - 3:30 pm
Online (Registration Required)

Date Range
2020-11-12 14:00:00 2020-11-12 15:30:00 IJS Lecture: Aiko Takeuchi-Demirci, "The Eugenic Protection Law and the Promotion of Eugenic Marriages in Postwar Japan" The Institute for Japanese Studies presents: "The Eugenic Protection Law and the Promotion of Eugenic Marriages in Postwar Japan" Aiko Takeuchi-Demirci Koç University Flyer: Takeuchi-Demirci Flyer [PDF] Abstract: The Eugenic Protection Law (EPL) was enacted in 1948 with the aim of “protecting the birth of unfit offspring while protecting the health of the maternal body.” The immediate purpose of the EPL was to control the rapid increase of population in the postwar years by providing women with easier access to abortion and birth control. The broader significance of the law for the lawmakers was that it reinforced the eugenic sterilization policy that had been laid out by the wartime eugenics law. This lecture explains the rhetoric that national leaders in Japan used to promote “eugenic marriages” to the broad Japanese public in order to recover the nation from the devastating effects of war. In this process, eugenic reproduction and sterilization were normalized for the good of the nation. The lecture further connects these postwar events and discussions to the recent lawsuits against the Japanese government by victims of forced sterilization under the EPL. Online (Registration Required) America/New_York public

The Institute for Japanese Studies presents:

"The Eugenic Protection Law and the Promotion of Eugenic Marriages in Postwar Japan"

Aiko Takeuchi-Demirci
Koç University

Flyer: Takeuchi-Demirci Flyer [PDF]

Abstract: The Eugenic Protection Law (EPL) was enacted in 1948 with the aim of “protecting the birth of unfit offspring while protecting the health of the maternal body.” The immediate purpose of the EPL was to control the rapid increase of population in the postwar years by providing women with easier access to abortion and birth control. The broader significance of the law for the lawmakers was that it reinforced the eugenic sterilization policy that had been laid out by the wartime eugenics law. This lecture explains the rhetoric that national leaders in Japan used to promote “eugenic marriages” to the broad Japanese public in order to recover the nation from the devastating effects of war. In this process, eugenic reproduction and sterilization were normalized for the good of the nation. The lecture further connects these postwar events and discussions to the recent lawsuits against the Japanese government by victims of forced sterilization under the EPL.