Japan's government has apologised to tens of thousands of victims forcibly sterilised under a now-defunct Eugenics Protection Law and promised to pay compensation.

Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshihide Suga says he is offering "sincere remorse and heartfelt apology" to the victims.

Japan's parliament enacted legislation earlier Wednesday to provide redress measures, including 3.2 million yen (USD 28,600) compensation for each victim.

An estimated 25,000 people were given unconsented sterilisation while the 1948 Eugenics Protection Law was in place until 1996. The law allowed doctors to sterilise people with disabilities.

The apology and the redress law follow a series of lawsuits by victims who came forward recently.

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