YOKOHAMA -- Official documents recording the reasons and other backgrounds for applying for forcible sterilization of people with disabilities under the now-defunct Eugenic Protection Act have been found here, shedding light on the detailed circumstances leading up to such surgeries.

The documents discovered at the Kanagawa Prefectural Archives date back to fiscal 1962, 1963 and 1970. They include applications for eugenic surgeries submitted to a screening panel and records of medical examinations on people subjected to such operations. The documents even include such detailed personal information as their life history and family trees.

Keiko Toshimitsu, a researcher at Ritsumeikan University, confirmed the authenticity of the documents by analyzing relevant resources. One of the sets of the documents -- bills for sterilization surgeries in fiscal 1963 -- indicate that ovarium was removed in at least one case though it was not allowed under the law and that at least one patient developed complications due to a sterilization operation.

According to documents from fiscal 1962, a man who was reputed to be a hard worker with good performances was subjected to sterilization after he developed schizophrenia, even though his symptoms had turned around within about six months.

Another record shows that a teenage girl was forced to undergo sterilization just because she "was unable to deal with her period."

"It is surprising that the surgeries were forcibly carried out for such reasons, even though they were legal at the time," Toshimitsu said. "One patient had to be hospitalized for one month, indicating that the surgery exerted a huge impact on them both physically and psychologically."

Under the former Eugenic Protection Act, which was introduced in 1948 on the grounds of "preventing the birth of imperfect descendants," a total of 16,475 sterilization operations were coerced between 1948 and 1996. Of them, 403 cases were performed in Kanagawa Prefecture. Applications for such operations filed with the screening panel contained such information as the patient's rearing history, living conditions and family trees that even included family members' diseases and occupations.

Yoko Matsubara, professor at Ritsumeikan University, commented, "The documents are valuable in that they reveal how forcible sterilization operations were applied for and how the applications were screened. It is expected that the documents will provide a foothold for getting to the bottom of similar cases across the country."

The notorious 1948 law allowed for performing sterilizations and abortions on those with psychiatric, intellectual or genetic disorders, as well as Hansen's disease patients, even without obtaining their consent. Some 70 percent of those forced into sterilization operations were women. However, the government has not offered an apology or compensation to the victims of the past operations. According to the Japan Federation of Bar Associations, there were approximately 59,000 abortions and some 25,000 sterilizations performed under the law.