Abortion in Japan

Memorandums and information about abortion situations and problems in Japan

LINEPHARMA INTERNATIONAL FILES FOR MANUFACTURING, MARKETING APPROVAL OF THE ABORTION PILL IN JAPAN

BioSpace, Published: Dec 22, 2021

LINEPHARMA INTERNATIONAL FILES FOR MANUFACTURING, MARKETING APPROVAL OF THE ABORTION PILL IN JAPAN | BioSpace

LINEPHARMA INTERNATIONAL FILES FOR MANUFACTURING, MARKETING APPROVAL OF THE ABORTION PILL IN JAPAN
Published: Dec 22, 2021


LONDON and TOKYO, Dec. 22, 2021 /PRNewswire/ - Linepharma International Ltd., a global leader in medical abortion, announced today that its subsidiary Linepharma KK has applied for manufacturing and marketing approval in Japan for its oral drug MEFEEGO™ for the medical termination of pregnancies of up to 63 days of gestation. The medication is recognized as the international gold standard for first trimester medical abortioni and is on the World Health Organization (WHO) list of essential drugs for abortion.ii

A successful submission in Japan would signify the first approved medical abortion drug in Japan and would follow launches in Australia and Canada and most recently in South Korea, where a submission to health authorities will be made later this year. Available in 80 countries, the abortion pill has maintained an outstanding safety record throughout the world.iii

The drug combination of mifepristone and misoprostol, the first combination pack worldwide, will be known in Japan as MEFEEGO™. The application to the Pharmaceuticals and Medical Devices Agency (PMDA) is based on the results of a Japanese Phase III clinical trial consisting of 120 women aged 18 to 45 years old. If the drug is approved, the 156,430 Japanese women who had surgical abortion procedures in 2019 alone will have another therapeutic option based on their individual need.

"Linepharma is a global pioneer in abortion medicine and is dedicated to improving sexual and reproductive health including the discovery, development and distribution of innovative health solutions including a combination abortion medication. We are equally committed to working closely with health regulators, healthcare professionals, patient groups and other stakeholders to ensure access to safe and effective options", said Marion Ulmann, Linepharma International's General Manager. "Our drug application for MEFEEGO in Japan is a very significant milestone for Japanese women who, for the very first time, will have an entirely new option for abortion."

Around 73 million induced abortions take place worldwide each year. Global estimates demonstrate that 45% of all induced abortions are unsafe.iv According to the WHO, abortion is a simple and safe healthcare intervention that can be effectively managed by a wide range of healthcare professionals using medication or a surgical procedure.v

About Linepharma International Ltd.
Linepharma International Ltd. was established in 2010 and currently operates in more than 25 countries in North and South America and the Asia-Pacific region. In line with the most current scientific data and World Health Organization's recommendations, Linepharma supplies products for medication abortion in Canada, Latin America, Asia, and Australia. For more information visit www.linepharma.com

Linepharma KK
Linepharma KK was established in May 2020 and acquired a license as a pharmaceutical company in July 2021. Linepharma KK is committed to improving women's health through products and solutions focused on unmet medical needs including an oral drug for the medical termination of pregnancy.

REFERENCES

i JOGC 2019 Barriers and Facilitators to the Implementation of first Trimester Medical Abortion with Mifepristone in the Province of Québec: A Qualitative Investigation Marie-Soleil Wagner, MD, MS; Sarah Munro, PhD; Elizabeth S. Wilcox, MA; Courtney Devane, RN, MN; Wendy V. Norman, MD, MH Sc; Sheila Dunn, MD, MSc; Judith A. Soon, RPh, PhD; Edith Guilbert, MD, MSc

ii www.who.int/news-room/fact-sheets/detail/abortion

iii www.actioncanadashr.org/resources/factsheets-guidelines/2019-04-06-faq-abortion-pill-mifegymiso

iv Bearak J, Popinchalk A, Ganatra B, Moller A-B, Tunçalp Ö, Beavin C et al. Unintended pregnancy and abortion by income, region, and the legal status of abortion estimates from a comprehensive model for 1990–2019. Lancet Glob Health. 2020 Sep; 8(9):e1152-e1161. doi: 10.1016/S2214-109X (20)30315-6

v www.who.int/news-room/fact-sheets/detail/abortion

Cision View original content:https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/linepharma-international-files-for-manufacturing-marketing-approval-of-the-abortion-pill-in-japan-301449883.html

SOURCE Linepharma International Limited

www.nippon.com

British firm to seek approval for abortion pill in Japan

The Japan News, 3:19 pm, November 21, 2021

The Yomiuri Shimbun
British pharmaceutical company Linepharma plans to apply to the Health, Labor and Welfare Ministry for approval of the abortion pill in late December, according to sources familiar with the matter.


Approval is expected within a year if the review process goes smoothly. It would be the first orally consumed abortion pill, or medication abortion, available in Japan, and is expected to help reduce the related physical and mental burden on women.


The application will be for mifepristone, a drug that suppresses the function of progesterone, which maintains pregnancy; and misoprostol, a drug that causes the uterus to contract. The two drugs are taken in combination to expel the contents of the uterus.


The abortion pill was approved in France in 1988 and is already in use in more than 70 countries around the world. Due to the negative image of abortion in Japan, in-depth discussions about its introduction have not been held in this nation and it remains unapproved.


A clinical trial conducted by Linepharma in Japan found the abortion pill caused 93% of 120 pregnant women at up to nine weeks gestation to have an abortion within 24 hours.


Of these women, 60% had symptoms such as abdominal pain and vomiting, but most symptoms were mild or moderate. Less than 40% of the side effects were believed to result from the drugs.


About 140,000 abortions were conducted in Japan in 2020. Abortions in this nation have so far been limited to surgical procedures: the dilation and curettage (D&C) method in which the contents of the uterus are scraped out with a metal instrument, and the dilation and evacuation (D&E) procedure in which the contents are sucked out with a tube.


These procedures are not covered by insurance, therefore the cost is between ¥100,000 and ¥200,000. In contrast, data from the World Health Organization shows the average price of an abortion pill overseas is only about ¥740.


The WHO recommends abortion pills and D&E as they are less harmful to the body. It has said the D&C procedure, which risks damaging the uterus, is “outdated and should not be performed.”

British firm to seek approval for abortion pill in Japan

Yomiuri Newspaper, November 21, 2021

British firm to seek approval for abortion pill in Japan

3:19 pm, November 21, 2021

The Yomiuri Shimbun
British pharmaceutical company Linepharma plans to apply to the Health, Labor and Welfare Ministry for approval of the abortion pill in late December, according to sources familiar with the matter.

Approval is expected within a year if the review process goes smoothly. It would be the first orally consumed abortion pill, or medication abortion, available in Japan, and is expected to help reduce the related physical and mental burden on women.

The application will be for mifepristone, a drug that suppresses the function of progesterone, which maintains pregnancy; and misoprostol, a drug that causes the uterus to contract. The two drugs are taken in combination to expel the contents of the uterus.

The abortion pill was approved in France in 1988 and is already in use in more than 70 countries around the world. Due to the negative image of abortion in Japan, in-depth discussions about its introduction have not been held in this nation and it remains unapproved.

A clinical trial conducted by Linepharma in Japan found the abortion pill caused 93% of 120 pregnant women at up to nine weeks gestation to have an abortion within 24 hours.

Of these women, 60% had symptoms such as abdominal pain and vomiting, but most symptoms were mild or moderate. Less than 40% of the side effects were believed to result from the drugs.

About 140,000 abortions were conducted in Japan in 2020. Abortions in this nation have so far been limited to surgical procedures: the dilation and curettage (D&C) method in which the contents of the uterus are scraped out with a metal instrument, and the dilation and evacuation (D&E) procedure in which the contents are sucked out with a tube.

These procedures are not covered by insurance, therefore the cost is between ¥100,000 and ¥200,000. In contrast, data from the World Health Organization shows the average price of an abortion pill overseas is only about ¥740.

The WHO recommends abortion pills and D&E as they are less harmful to the body. It has said the D&C procedure, which risks damaging the uterus, is “outdated and should not be performed.”Speech

(c)Yomiuri Shinbun

Japan's abortion rule: Get consent from your sexual predator Requirement forces rape survivors to relive trauma

Nikkei Asia, NATSUKI OSHIRO, Nikkei staff writer October 20, 2020 23:23 JST

FUKUOKA -- When a woman in western Japan visited a hospital several years ago to seek an abortion after being sexually assaulted, she heard a shocking response from her doctor: "We cannot proceed without consent from the father."

She had noticed she was pregnant about a month and a half after she was assaulted by an acquaintance. She was so shocked that she did not report the incident. She explained her situation over and over again, but the doctor refused to budge.

"You know him, so you should be able to get him to sign off," the doctor said.

The woman searched for other medical facilities that were more understanding, but received a similar response every time. It was only a month later, with the recommendation of a support group for women like her, that she was able to finally receive an abortion.

By that point, her case was considered a second-term abortion -- a significantly riskier and costlier procedure, which she was required to report to the government as a stillbirth.

She said the process was physically and emotionally traumatizing. "Why do victims have to suffer again and again?" she said.


A consultant answers a call on a hotline for sexual violence victims in Fukuoka.
The woman is one of many sexual assault survivors denied abortions across Japan by hospitals that require consent from their attackers. Support groups have made some headway toward overturning these requirements that retraumatize victims, though they face a long road ahead.

At the end of June, the Lawyer Forum for Victim Support submitted a written request to the Japan Medical Association to stop requiring sexual predators' consent for an abortion. The document included four case studies where sexual assault survivors were blocked from the procedure due to this requirement.

The controversy is rooted in the Maternal Health Act, which requires consent from both the mother and her "spouse" to perform an abortion. Critics argue that the law pushes some doctors to seek a signoff from the male party, even in potential sexual assault cases.

Many hospitals model their paperwork for abortions on a template provided by the Japan Association of Obstetricians and Gynecologists, which has a dedicated field to be filled by a "spouse."

"The template is a big part of the problem," said attorney Sakura Kamitani, a member of the Lawyer Forum for Victim Support. "Doctors may seek consent from the attackers because they don't want to leave part of the form blank."


A consent form template provided by the Japan Association of Obstetricians and Gynecologists has a dedicated field to be filled by a "spouse."
Japanese law permits abortions for various reasons, including for pregnancies caused by rape. But doctors on their own cannot determine whether a sexual assault has taken place. At a December workshop in Tokyo, the Japan Medical Association instructed gynecologists to request documentation like a bill of indictment or a court sentence from sexual assault victims seeking an abortion.

There are also cases where the perpetrators do not recognize that they assaulted their victims.

"We want to perform the abortions, but we can't rule out the possibility that we will be sued by the male party," said JAOG Vice Chair Isamu Ishiwata.

Many sexual assault survivors are reluctant to contact the authorities. According to the White Paper on Crime published last year by the Ministry of Justice, only about 14% of sexual asault victims had brought their case to the police in the five years prior.

"Being denied an abortion at the hospital could be a form of 'second rape,'" or a secondary victimization, said Hisako Ura, head of the Fukuoka Victim Support Center.

In response to growing scrutiny over the issue, the Ministry of Health, Labor and Welfare in August sent a letter to the Japan Medical Association clarifying that the Maternal Health Act does not require consent for abortions from rapists.

Still, Kamitani believes this does not go far enough. "Doctors on the ground could keep asking for a signoff unless they are explicitly told that they must not do so," she said. Her organization is urging the Japan Medical Association to conduct a nationwide survey to assess the situation.

Japan urged to abolish third-party consent from abortion law

The Guardian Justin McCurry in Tokyo, Mon 27 Sep 2021 09.30 BST

Japan urged to abolish third-party consent from abortion law
Restrictions amount to ‘sexual assault’ on women by Japanese state, say rights campaigners


Women’s health campaigners have urged Japan’s government to amend a law that forces married women to seek consent from their husbands before they can have an abortion.


Japan is one of only 11 countries that require third-party consent for abortions, despite calls to end the practice by the World Health Organization and other groups.


Although the 1948 law makes exceptions in some cases, including rape or when the mother’s health is in danger, the restrictions amount to a “sexual assault” on women by the Japanese state, according to Kazane Kajiya, an abortion rights and contraception access activist.


“Women have the right to decide what to do with their bodies, and denying them that right amounts to sexual abuse by the nation,” she told reporters on Monday.


“Japan doesn’t protect women, but tries to ‘protect’ their bodies as public property and future incubators. We are treated as mothers and future mothers. We want the human right to access contraception and abortion without anyone else’s approval. But Japan treats our bodies as its national property.”


Women who have an abortion without consent – by forging their husband’s signature or buying illegal abortion pills online – face up to a year in prison.


“When it comes to women making decisions about their own bodies, men’s opinions carry more weight than women’s happiness, health, and even their lives,” said Kajiya, who has launched a petition demanding a change to the law.


Campaigners say the requirement underlines Japan’s outdated attitude towards women’s reproductive health. The morning-after pill is available only with a doctor’s prescription, and the health ministry has said only that it will “consider” easing regulations to allow the emergency birth control to be sold over the counter, as it is in dozens of other countries.


The Japan Society of Obstetrics and Gynaecology has called for the maternal health law to be changed to allow women to seek abortion without third-party consent during the first 12 weeks of pregnancy. The WHO and the UN Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women have recommended that Japan abolish the requirement.


Kajiya said that although the law applied mostly to married women, it had been used to force some to go through with a pregnancy regardless of their marital status, including the victims of abuse and sexual assault.


Abortions are legal in Japan, with about 160,000 reported in the year up to March 2019, including 13,588 involving women under the age of 20, according to the health ministry.


Abortion pills are illegal, however. Pressure is mounting on Japan’s health authorities to approve the oral drug, which is recommended by the WHO, but its use could also require third-party consent, Kajiya said.


“Why do women who are capable of making decisions and taking responsibility for their lives need men’s permission to take an extremely safe medicine?” Kajiya said. “We are treated like minors, because we are not allowed to make decisions about our own bodies. It means our bodies will never truly be ours.”

Japan urged to abolish third-party consent from abortion law | Japan | The Guardian

Japan urged to abolish third-party consent from abortion law

Gardian, Sept 27, 2021

Restrictions amount to ‘sexual assault’ on women by Japanese state, say rights campaigners
www.theguardian.com

Japan is one of only 11 countries that require third-party consent for abortions, despite calls to end the practice by the World Health Organization

Justin McCurry in Tokyo
Mon 27 Sep 2021 09.30 BST


Women’s health campaigners have urged Japan’s government to amend a law that forces married women to seek consent from their husbands before they can have an abortion.


Japan is one of only 11 countries that require third-party consent for abortions, despite calls to end the practice by the World Health Organization and other groups.


Although the 1948 law makes exceptions in some cases, including rape or when the mother’s health is in danger, the restrictions amount to a “sexual assault” on women by the Japanese state, according to Kazane Kajiya, an abortion rights and contraception access activist.


Speaking on the eve of International Safe Abortion Day, Kajiya said the maternal health act was designed to ensure that women continued to perform their traditional role as mothers.


“Women have the right to decide what to do with their bodies, and denying them that right amounts to sexual abuse by the nation,” she told reporters on Monday.


“Japan doesn’t protect women, but tries to ‘protect’ their bodies as public property and future incubators. We are treated as mothers and future mothers. We want the human right to access contraception and abortion without anyone else’s approval. But Japan treats our bodies as its national property.”


Women who have an abortion without consent – by forging their husband’s signature or buying illegal abortion pills online – face up to a year in prison.


“When it comes to women making decisions about their own bodies, men’s opinions carry more weight than women’s happiness, health, and even their lives,” said Kajiya, who has launched a petition demanding a change to the law.


Campaigners say the requirement underlines Japan’s outdated attitude towards women’s reproductive health. The morning-after pill is available only with a doctor’s prescription, and the health ministry has said only that it will “consider” easing regulations to allow the emergency birth control to be sold over the counter, as it is in dozens of other countries.


The Japan Society of Obstetrics and Gynaecology has called for the maternal health law to be changed to allow women to seek abortion without third-party consent during the first 12 weeks of pregnancy. The WHO and the UN Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women have recommended that Japan abolish the requirement.


Kajiya said that although the law applied mostly to married women, it had been used to force some to go through with a pregnancy regardless of their marital status, including the victims of abuse and sexual assault.


Abortions are legal in Japan, with about 160,000 reported in the year up to March 2019, including 13,588 involving women under the age of 20, according to the health ministry.


Abortion pills are illegal, however. Pressure is mounting on Japan’s health authorities to approve the oral drug, which is recommended by the WHO, but its use could also require third-party consent, Kajiya said.


“Why do women who are capable of making decisions and taking responsibility for their lives need men’s permission to take an extremely safe medicine?” Kajiya said. “We are treated like minors, because we are not allowed to make decisions about our own bodies. It means our bodies will never truly be ours.”

Survey on spontaneous miscarriage and induced abortion surgery safety at less than 12 weeks of gestation in Japan

Survey on spontaneous miscarriage and induced abortion surgery safety at less than 12 weeks of gestation in Japan

Full article

J Obstet Gynaecol Res
. 2021 Dec;47(12):4158-4163. doi: 10.1111/jog.15014. Epub 2021 Sep 27.
Survey on spontaneous miscarriage and induced abortion surgery safety at less than 12 weeks of gestation in Japan
Eishin Nakamura 1, Kosuke Kobayashi 2 3, Akihiko Sekizawa 4 5, Hiroshi Kobayashi 3 6, Yasushi Takai 3 7, Medical Safety and Education Committee of the Japan Association of Obstetricians and Gynecologists (JAOG), Tokyo, Japan
Affiliations expand
PMID: 34571569 DOI: 10.1111/jog.15014
Abstract
Aim: In Japan, dilatation and curettage (D&C) is a common procedure for spontaneous miscarriage and induced abortion, and its safety has long been an issue. Electric vacuum aspiration (EVA) is also common, but manual vacuum aspiration (MVA) was introduced recently, with medical abortions using mifepristone or misoprostol which are not yet legally accepted. This nationwide retrospective study surveyed the surgical methods and complications associated with spontaneous miscarriage and induced abortion at less than 12 weeks of gestation in Japan to assess their safety, in comparison with a similar survey for induced abortions in 2012.

Methods: Questionnaires were sent to 4176 facilities with a license for induced abortion surgeries in 2019. The questions included were the methods used, number of spontaneous miscarriages and induced abortions, and number of complications (uterine perforation, incomplete abortion, and gross bleeding requiring blood transfusion).

Results: Responses were received from 1706 facilities (40.9%). Although EVA with sharp curettage was the most common surgical method, which was used for 11 953 spontaneous miscarriages (28.9%) and 24 045 induced abortions (37.3%), the most common surgical method per facility was D&C, and the rates of D&C for spontaneous miscarriages (38.4%) and induced abortions (44.7%) performed in general hospitals were significantly higher than those in clinics (24.1% and 22.0%, respectively). There was no significant difference in the complication incidence rate among surgical methods for spontaneous miscarriages. However, in induced abortion surgery, the total complication and incomplete abortion incidence rates for D&C were significantly higher than those for EVA without sharp curettage (47/15 162 [0.31%] vs. 29/18 693 [0.16%], p = 0.00362, 45/15 162 [0.30%] vs. 27/18 693 [0.14%], p = 0.00285, respectively). There was no significant difference in the complication incidence rate between MVA and other surgical methods for each abortion surgery.

Conclusion: In Japan, especially in general hospitals, D&C is still widely used for miscarriage and induced abortion surgery. Its complication-incidence rates significantly decreased compared with that of the nationwide survey in 2012, but were still significantly higher than EVA without sharp curettage. Few facilities used MVA, but its complication rate was comparable with those of other surgical methods.

Keywords: abortion; dilatation and curettage; induced abortion; obstetric surgical procedure; vacuum aspiration.

© 2021 Japan Society of Obstetrics and Gynecology.

SOUTH KOREA: Joint Action for Reproductive Justice challenges Korean College of Obstetrics & Gynecology for trying to delay approval of abortion pill combi-pack on spurious grounds

International Campaign for Women's Rights to Safe Abortion, Newsletter - 17 September 2021

Joint Action for Reproductive Justice challenges Korean College of Obstetrics & Gynecology for trying to delay approval of abortion pill combi-pack on spurious grounds


A conflict developed this month between an abortion rights group and a gynaecologists’ association over whether or not is it necessary to conduct a “bridging trial” of the combi-pack of medical abortion pills whose brand name is Mifegymiso (mifepristone + misoprostol), a widely used brand of abortion pills that is due to arrive in Korea soon.

A “bridging trial” is intended to obtain clinical data on the safety of a new medication for Koreans when it is believed that clinical trial results from other countries do not apply to Koreans due to “differences in ethnic factors” (sic).

Hyundai Pharm had applied for marketing approval for Mifegymiso in July this year. According to industry sources, the Ministry of Food and Drug Safety (MFDS) held a meeting of the Central Pharmaceutical Affairs Council on 2 September 2021 to review to safety data.

The advocacy group Joint Action for Reproductive Justice (JARJ) attended the drug approval review meeting as a reference witness. JARJ argued that as Mifegymiso’s safety and efficacy have already been proved sufficiently in other countries, the MFDS should waiver a bridging study and approve the abortion pills swiftly to guarantee women’s access to safe abortion.

They also argued that misoprostol is already authorised as a gastric ulcer treatment in Korea, and poses almost no risk in efficacy and safety. And that mifepristone had already been approved in several Asian countries, including China, Taiwan, Vietnam and Mongolia, which made a bridging study unnecessary since they were all Asian.

JARJ also noted that the authorities had caught 2,365 illegal advertisements for the sale of unauthorised abortion pills in 2019, which potentially left Korean women unsafe.

“A bridging study is a tool to review ethnic factors, not national factors,” said Lee Dong-geun, Secretary-General of the Association of Pharmacists for Healthy Society (APHS). Lee is also an executive member of JARJ. “Excessively demanding a bridging study could be a waste of resources, and it could further delay access to an abortion drug that has been delayed for more than 30 years.”

Lee noted that mifepristone was recognised as a safe drug by the WHO and has been used in Asia for a long time. Raising concerns about the drug’s effect on Koreans only was excessive. “Just like the regulator exempts a bridging study for orphan drugs and anti-cancer drugs, it should waiver a bridging trial for Mifegymiso considering that there is no other medicine that can induce medical abortion.”

In contrast, the Korean College of Obstetrics & Gynecology (KCOG) said a bridging trial for Mifegymiso was necessary because it is an accepted part of introducing a new medicine in Korea, usually when it is imported. It is possible to apply for a local permit without an additional clinical trial only with bridging clinical data. “We sternly warn that attempts to ignore such a process could endanger people’s right to health,” KCOG said.

KCOG also rejected the argument that bona fide abortion pills are needed to curb illegal distribution of abortion pills. KCOG said the government should enforce the law strictly to protect people’s safety first. KCOG also claimed that many women suffer from adverse reactions after using abortion drugs illegally and called on the government to conduct a fact-finding investigation to identify the risks before introducing Mifegymiso. Also, the government should draw up measures to prevent misuse of abortion pills and illicit trading that could also occur even after Mifegymiso gets approval.


The Constitutional Court of Korea ruled in 2019 that criminalising abortion in Korea was unconstitutional and ordered lawmakers to revise the law by the end of 2020. However, the government and the National Assembly have been slow to do this, KCOG said. “Rather than rushing to introduce a risky medicine, the government and the parliament should expedite the revision of the law,” it said.

These inaccurate claims are disturbing from ob-gyns. Are abortion pills seen as a threat to ob-gyn income from surgical abortion services, as has happened in several other countries, including Japan and Spain? In 2018, it was the KCOG that discontinued performing abortions, except legally allowed procedures, in spite of existing demand, as their protest against the government’s latest law reform, which imposed harsher punishments on doctors who did abortions illegally. Yet it was women needing abortions who suffered.

SOURCES: Korea Biomedical Review by Kim Chan-hyuk, 13 September 2021 ; Korean Herald, by Claire Lee, 29 August 2018

https://mail.google.com/mail/u/0/?zx=ka9h7hpo0lq4#inbox/FMfcgzGljvKsgJLvhrZLkwHHLDmqKsvVhttps://mail.google.com/mail/u/0/?zx=ka9h7hpo0lq4#inbox/FMfcgzGljvKsgJLvhrZLkwHHLDmqKsvVTexas, SRI, South Sudan, South Korea, RAWSA MENA, 3 Shorts - Newsletter 17 September 2021

https://japantoday.com/category/crime/woman-goes-on-trial-for-burying-body-of-newborn-baby-in-tokyo-park

Japan Today 2021/09/14

TOKYO
A 23-year-old woman arrested on suspicion of murder after burying the body of her newborn baby girl in a park in Tokyo in November 2019 went on trial on Monday.

According to the indictment read out in the Tokyo District Court, Sayuri Kitai gave birth in a toilet at Tokyo’s Haneda airport on Nov 3, 2019, then took the infant and buried her corpse in Italy Park, about 500 meters from JR Hamamatsucho Station.

The corpse was found partially buried at around 10:45 a.m. on Nov 8 by a park visitor who saw the baby’s face and one arm sticking out of the ground.

Prosecutors said Kitai, a company employee from Kobe, was charged with murder as the infant is believed to have been alive after her birth and tissues were found stuffed down her throat.

Kitai had just completed four years at university at the time. She took a plane to Tokyo on the evening of Nov 3 for a job interview. After leaving Haneda airport, she took a taxi to the park, where her movements were captured on a street surveillance camera. She was seen carrying a paper bag.

Kitai’s lawyer said she has admitted to the charge but said she panicked after giving birth because she had no one she could talk to about her pregnancy. The lawyer said Kitai’s mind became a complete blank after she gave birth in the toilet.

© Japan Today

japantoday.com

‘Panicked’ Woman Gives Birth in an Airport Bathroom and Suffocates Her Baby With Toilet Paper

The 23-year-old said it was an unwanted pregnancy and felt she had no choice but to kill her baby.

By Hanako Montgomery
September 14, 2021, 6:34pm


The 23-year-old said it was an unwanted pregnancy and felt she had no choice but to kill her baby.

A young Japanese woman admitted to killing her baby after giving birth at a bathroom in Haneda Airport in Tokyo in 2019.

Koyuri Kitai, 23, told a court at the start of her homicide trial on Monday that she fatally suffocated her crying infant with toilet paper and buried her body in a Tokyo park.

In Japan, homicide can be punished by a minimum sentence of five years and up to life imprisonment or death.

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Kitai was visiting Tokyo from Kobe, a city near Osaka, for job interviews when she gave birth shortly after landing. She said it was an unwanted pregnancy, and felt she had no other choice but to kill her newborn.

“My doctor told me I couldn’t abort the baby, and I had no knowledge of what to do. I thought if I told my parents I’d shock them. I didn’t have the courage to consult them about the baby’s birth,” Kitai told the Tokyo District Court during her trial, as reported by Japanese broadcaster NHK.

Kitai was arrested in November after the infant’s corpse was found poking out of the Tokyo park’s soil, in a shocking case that has drawn discussion over Japan’s laws on abortion and lacking resources for pregnant women.

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According to NHK, Kitai said the baby’s father was a customer from her part-time job. She kept her pregnancy a secret from her family, even refusing to go to a gynecologist for regular check-ups. By the time she did seek medical assistance, it was too late—abortions are available up to 21 weeks and six days of pregnancy in Japan.

Kitai said she didn’t know she was going to give birth on that specific day, but when she did, she “panicked.”

“I thought about calling an ambulance, but then I suddenly realized I was stuffing toilet paper in the baby’s mouth. I was worried and scared, I didn’t know what to do,” she was reported as saying.

Yumiko Nakajima, the head doctor of Shimodaira Ladies Clinic in Tokyo, said Kitai’s case is “saddening” and highlights the need for more support for pregnant women.

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“It’s an example of a young woman who didn’t know what resources were available to her for this unwanted pregnancy,” she told VICE World News. “Even if we have funding and organizations that support women, if the information doesn’t get to them, there’s no point.”

In Japan, most reasons for terminating pregnancies are allowed, including when a woman feels she’s unable to financially support her child. But unlike other G7 nations, Japan still requires married women to get consent from their spouses before seeking abortion.

Nakajima said asking a woman to submit such spousal consent inhibits her freedom of choice. She welcomes current efforts—led by activists and lawmakers—to change that law, but she said the lack of support for single pregnant women was more troubling.



In her over 16 years as the director of Shimodaira clinic, Nakajima said she’s had a number of women in similar situations to Kitai’s, asking for abortions. “Past 21 weeks and 6 days, I have to turn them away. It’s difficult to do sometimes, but as a medical practitioner, I have to observe the law,” she said.


But to make sure these women knew what their options were, Nakajima said she provides them with the contact information of non-governmental organizations that provide financial assistance to single mothers, as well as adoption agencies they could explore.


“It’s very difficult to be a single mother in Japan. That’s why I think if the law prevents these women from aborting their infants after a certain time, there should be adequate social systems that support them. They shouldn’t be alone,” she said.

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