Abortion in Japan

Memorandums and information about abortion situations and problems in Japan

The first event in Japan on International Safe Abortion Day

Japan

*No more abortion harassment for Japanese women

 

Message:

Medical abortion has not been approved in Japan.

Moreover, D&C, the less safe method, is still used for more than 80% of the early abortion here.

Abortion is deeply stigmatized in this nation, but we, some of Japanese feminists, decided to take action for the better SRHR situations for women in Japan, so we join this movement of the International Safe Abortion Day worldwide.

No more harassment for women who need abortion in Japan!  Women deserve better, humane and dignified treatment!

We are going to hold a pre-event of the International Safe Abortion Day, on September 27 in Kyoto, Japan.

Let's join us.  Safe abortion for all women in Japan and on this globe!

 

Program:

Introduction: Ms. Minori Kitahara, Feminist writer and activist, "General information on women's situations and abortion in Japan"

Report 1: PhD. Kumi Tsukahara, Independent researcher on Japanese abortion problems, "Abortion Harassment in Japan"

Video message 1: MUVS, PhD, Research and writing, Susanne Krejsa MacManus from Museum of Abortion and Contraception in Austria

Video message 2: Ms. Kazuko Fukuda, SRHR Activist, studying in Sweden, #nandenaino (Why don't they exist in Japan?)

Report 2: Ob-Gyn, MD, PhD. Tomoko Saotome, "Stigma surrounding abortion in Japan"

Discussion with participants

 

Unofficial video record:

https://www.facebook.com/minorikitahara/videos/3342716179086998/UzpfSTEwMDAwMDQ1OTQ1Mjc1MzozMzQyODQ5MDIyNDA3MDQ3/

First memorial event for International Safe Abortion Day in Japan

Japan

As many of you know, Japan is one of the least developed country concerning abortion method as well as social environment surrounding women's health and rights.

Abortion pill has not been approved here, and D&C is the first choice for the Japanese "designated" abortion doctors even now.

There are only fewer choices of contraception for Japanese women. 

Sex education is insufficient, though the youth can easily get obscene materials through the Internet.

Here in Japan the surgery costs huge, usually done without any informed choice nor counseling.

As well as in many other nations, abortion is still a big taboo in our society,  deeply stigmatized by criminal law as well as  pseudo-religious memorial services for the dead fetus.

However, my friends and I finally decided to bring up such deplorable Japanese situation as "abortion harassment" to the society.   We are going have a an event at night on the day before the international safe abortion day.

Our slogan is "Nakuso abohara", meaning "let's abolish abortion harassment".

Please give us your support to bring safe abortion to Japan!

https://twitter.com/abohara0928?fbclid=IwAR3Do4eVQeEwOt31OX8IW6T-97OPfq3pzY2IZ_zhHuWkFc0ckBE44pifoUI

On Korean's Abortion Reform

South Korea

*Legalization of abortion in Korea

South Korea’s Abortion Reform A Model for Others

South Korea Rules Anti-Abortion Law Unconstitutional

South Korea to legalize abortion after 66-year ban

South Korean court rules abortion ban must be lifted

South Korea's Top Court Orders Government to End 66-Year-Old Abortion Ban

South Korea moves to legalize abortion

South Korea court strikes down abortion law in landmark ruling

South Korean Court Strikes Down Decades-Old Abortion Ban

Japan Health System Review

Japan

Here is the link.

>>

3.4.3 Direct payment
Although most of the services are covered by national insurance, some
services, especially for non-diseases, cosmetic and luxury purposes,
are not covered by health insurance and patients have to pay the full
amount. A typical example is normal vaginal delivery, as childbirth is
not considered as a disease. Instead of providers (such as obstetric
clinics or midwiferies) claiming reimbursement from health insurance,
the government has introduced several types of one-time cash benefits
for deliveries, which are likely to offset the cost. The primary benefit
is ¥420 000 (approximately US$ 3500). Although obstetric clinics and
midwives can set the price of delivery freely because delivery is not
covered under the uniform fee schedule set by the MHLW, in most
cases, providers will set their prices somewhere within the limit of the
cash benefit. Emergency and Caesarean section deliveries are treated
as diseases covered by health insurance and providers will claim
70
reimbursement from health insurance in the same manner as any other
treatment.
Other examples of direct payments include cosmetic surgery,
orthodontics, abortions and infertility treatment. In Japan, infertility
treatment (i.e. assisted reproductive treatment, ART) is proliferating due
to advancing maternal age. Such infertility treatments are not covered by
health insurance, and OOP payment for couples who wish to have children
can be heavy. To alleviate the financial burden on couples suffering from
infertility, subsidies commenced in 2004. Couples with a combined annual
income of less than ¥7.3 million (approximately $60 000) can receive a
subsidy of ¥150 000 for a treatment cycle. However, the subsidy is far
smaller than the actual charges of many clinics, which can be as high as
¥1 million and have no price control (infertility treatment is not covered
by health insurance, which means that each hospital and clinic can set
prices freely). Table. 3.13 shows the growth in subsidies for infertility
treatment, and the considerable demand for some services that are
covered only by direct payments, which means patients are required to
pay 100% of all health-care costs.

<<

Only for 'naughty girls': Stigma lingers after South Korea abortion ban overturned

*Japan Times, Apr. 19, 2019

BY BEH LIH YI
THOMSON REUTERS FOUNDATION

KUALA LUMPUR – South Korea is set to legalize abortion after a decadeslong ban was struck down, but women’s rights campaigners have warned those who undergo the procedure will still be “punished in the eyes of society.”

In a landmark verdict last week, a South Korean court ruled the ban — which dates from 1953 — unconstitutional and asked the government to legalize abortion by the end of 2020.

Under the ban, as it currently stands, women who have abortions can be jailed for up to a year and get a fine, while doctors who perform the procedure at the woman’s request can face imprisonment of up to two years.

The ruling was lauded as a victory for gender equality, but women’s rights activists said conservative values mean women — even doctors — would still face stigma, hampering access to abortion.

“Even if women are no longer criminals under the law for abortion, they will still be punished in the eyes of the society,” said Jiann Woo, who has organized protests against the ban since 2016.

“Abortion is still seen as immoral here — it is only something that the ‘single, naughty girls’ would do,” added the 25-year-old student, co-founder of Femidangdang, a Seoul-based women’s rights group.

The Roman Catholic Church, with 5 million adherents — out of a population of 51 million in South Korea — has taken a firm stance against the ruling.

“A nation has a responsibility to protect its people’s life and safety under any circumstances,” Seoul’s Roman Catholic Archbishop Andrew Yeom Soo-jung said, adding he is “worried” over the ruling.

“Every life, from the moment of conception, should be protected as a human being,” he added in a statement.

South Korea became one of the last developed countries where abortion is a crime after Ireland voted in a referendum last year to overturn its highly restrictive abortion laws.

 

www.japantimes.co.jp

Links