The Japanese government will pay thousands of victims of its forced sterilisation scheme compensation in a long-awaited apology for the suffering it caused.

Some 25,000 men and women with intellectual disabilities, mental illnesses or hereditary disorders underwent sterilisation procedures under the country's eugenics law. Less than half of those consented to the procedure.

In a new bill, which is expected to be enacted in April, the government will offer an apology and compensation of a minimum of Y3 million (£20,262) to those who were operated on.

The legislation was agreed upon between the ruling Liberal Democratic Party and the opposition yesterday/FRI and will now be put to the legislature.

It includes the statement: “We sincerely reflect on and deeply apologise for the great physical and mental suffering [that came from the policy]”.

The wording of the apology, in particular the pronoun 'we', has attracted criticism since it implies a collective responsibility while stopping short of specifically recognising the state's own culpability. The government has argued that this is because the policy was legal at the time of the procedures.

Japan’s Eugenics Protection Law was introduced in 1948 to prevent the birth of “inferior” children at a time when Japan was experiencing a shortage of food and other basic necessities immediately after the end of the Second World War.