JapanReported
Five Jehovah's Witnesses sue Okinawa Prefecture, saying public hospitals refused to treat them unless they consented to transfusion
Filed in the Naha District Court on 18 May 2026 and reported in late August, the suit seeks about ¥16.74 million in damages and, Ryukyu Shimpo reports, a ruling that the policy at two prefectural hospitals is invalid. The plaintiffs say they were turned away for declining to sign a transfusion consent form; the hospitals say they are examining the complaint and cannot comment. The allegations are unproven and the first hearing is listed for 16 September.