TOKYO (Kyodo) -- The Japanese government started a process Friday to compensate victims of forced sterilization surgery under a now-defunct eugenics protection law, aiming to provide remedy to those who have not joined lawsuits against the state.

The move comes as a law took effect to provide damages to those affected by what is seen as the worst human rights violation in the country's postwar history.

The government will pay 15 million yen ($96,700) each to victims of forced sterilization surgery under the 1946-1996 eugenics law, 5 million yen to spouses of the victims and a lump sum of 2 million yen to those forced to undergo abortion surgery.

A total of 39 people have filed lawsuits nationwide since 2018 to seek compensation from the state. But many others are unable to raise their voices for fear of facing prejudice or having no knowledge of having undergone sterilization surgery, according to lawyers.

The compensation will be paid on request from victims or their families, with the deadline for applications set for Jan. 16, 2030. If a sterilization victim or the victim's spouse has died, the compensation will go to their children, grandchildren or siblings.

The new law, proposed by a cross-party lawmakers' group, was enacted in October 2024, three months after the Supreme Court said in a landmark ruling that the eugenics protection law was unconstitutional, ordering the state to compensate victims.

The eugenics law permitted sterilization or abortion surgery for people with intellectual disabilities, mental illnesses, or hereditary disorders without their consent, aiming to prevent "inferior" traits from entering the gene pool.

About 25,000 people were sterilized, 16,500 of them without consent, and there were around 59,000 cases of abortion surgery under the law, according to government data, with over 23,000 victims estimated to be alive.

The new law, whose preamble says parliament and the government "deeply apologize" for the eugenics program, provides significantly higher damages than the one-time state benefit of 3.2 million yen paid under a different law enacted in 2019.

To ensure prompt compensation without going through litigation, a board at the Children and Families Agency will take charge of identifying the extent of damage.

Applicants will be introduced to a lawyer free of charge on request to receive advice to prepare necessary documents, including a medical certificate proving they were administered surgery.

In July 2024, the Supreme Court ruled that the statute of limitations of 20 years for an unlawful act does not apply to cases involving the eugenics law.