Many people question whether abortion in Japan is allowed or legalized. In this article, we will understand in what situations it is permitted to perform a voluntary interruption of pregnancy in Japan, along with numerous curiosities.
Abortion (中絶 – Chūzetsu) in Japan has been legalized since 1948. Fortunately, Japan has a relatively low rate of unwanted pregnancies. It is not common to have religious or moral discussions around the legalization of abortion; the only concern of the government is that it helps to reduce the Japanese birth rate, which is a major problem.
Japan only allows abortion with the mother’s consent and if it is for a valid reason. Anyone who tries to perform the procedure without the mother’s consent or uses clandestine and unauthorized methods can be punished and imprisoned.
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The History of Abortion in Japan
Japan has a long history regarding abortion; it was prohibited for a long time from 1842 to 1923. After that year, doctors were allowed to perform abortions in emergency cases where the mother’s life was at risk. After World War II, Japan faced food shortages and ended up legalizing it.
Currently, abortion is widely accepted by more than 70% of the population in Japan; this does not mean that they agree with abortion, but rather that they have no issues with the law that allows abortion and believe it is a family’s choice to decide such an act.
Another significant factor is that the Japanese do not have the habit of interfering in the lives and decisions of others; they consider it disrespectful and impolite to go against someone else’s opinion.
It is worth remembering that the practice of abortion is something that has been happening for many centuries all over the world. In the past, absurd methods were used, such as kicking the mother’s belly, exposing the pregnant woman to intense cold, and others.
There were several bizarre cases of abortion and baby murders that led the government to decide on the legalization of abortion; one of them was a midwife who ended up killing hundreds of newborn babies, with the false argument of being concerned about the families’ ability to raise the babies.
Abortion without reason is not allowed in Japan!
Another thing that many end up confusing is that Japan does not allow abortion for any reason. It is available only for women in limited circumstances, with compromised health or economic difficulties.
However, licensed doctors who supervise and perform abortions end up ignoring these rules. Thus, any woman can use a simple pretext to abort without having problems with the law.
According to Japanese law, you can have an abortion if:
- The pregnancy was a result of rape;
- You do not have the financial means to support the child;
- It may compromise the mother’s health;
- It may harm the mother’s mental or psychological health;
- You do not have the mental capacity to care for a child;
Data on abortion in Japan
The numbers show that doctors and families are not honest about the problems in performing the procedure. About 250,000 abortions occur in Japan each year; it is impossible that this number is from mothers with problems.
It is believed that for every 1,000 pregnant women in Japan, 40 have abortions. It is worth remembering that the numbers are never exact, as doctors end up concealing these numbers to avoid paying taxes or to abort without a valid reason.
Japan has the lowest teenage pregnancy rate in the world. Only 4 out of every 1,000 pregnancies are from girls under 19 years old. Of the abortions that occur in Japan, only 8% belong to young women under 20 years old. One of the factors that lead teenagers to have abortions is the discrimination against young pregnant women.
Curiosities about abortion
You have probably heard about Kokeshi, which are wooden dolls quite popular as decorations and souvenirs. These dolls were originally used by families who had experienced an abortion (natural or induced). They were placed in the house to represent the unborn child and thus try to make amends for the harm done.
In Japan, there are also many temples dedicated to “mizuko,” which means “water children,” but one of the explanations for the etymological origin of this word is that using other kanji while maintaining the same reading, this word can mean “unseen children” (because they did not come to birth).
Many women who have had abortions go to these temples to pray for the souls of the aborted children, as a way to ask for forgiveness and repair the mistake. When I was traveling in Japan, I found this at the temple near Tokyo Tower.
My conclusion on the subject
I was quite relieved to know that under the law, abortion without any reason is prohibited; it is a pity that this rule is not fully enforced, and many abortions are committed for trivial reasons.
The truth is that abortion in Japan is a very delicate subject, and unfortunately, I did not have time to address even half of the topic. Although Japan allows abortion, it is curious to mention that even in countries where abortion is prohibited, it happens in huge clandestine numbers.
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