# Abortion in Japan

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**Abortion in Japan** is legal under a term limit of 22 weeks for endangerment to the health of the pregnant woman, economic hardship, or rape.[1] It was first legalized in 1948 under the [Eugenic Protection Law](/source/Eugenic_Protection_Law) initially for health and [eugenic](/source/Eugenics) reasons, and later expanded to include economic hardship, which made it function quite broadly in practice.

Chapter XXIX of the [Penal Code of Japan](/source/Penal_Code_of_Japan) makes [abortion](/source/Abortion) [de jure](/source/De_jure) illegal in the country, but exceptions to the law are broad enough that it is widely accepted and practiced. Exceptions to the prohibition of abortion are regulated by the [Maternal Health Protection Law](https://ja.wikipedia.org/wiki/%E6%AF%8D%E4%BD%93%E4%BF%9D%E8%AD%B7%E6%B3%95) that allows [approved doctors](https://ja.wikipedia.org/wiki/%E6%AF%8D%E4%BD%93%E4%BF%9D%E8%AD%B7%E6%B3%95%E6%8C%87%E5%AE%9A%E5%8C%BB%E5%B8%AB) to practice abortion on a woman if the pregnancy was the [result of rape](/source/Pregnancy_from_rape) or if the continuation of the pregnancy endangers the maternal health because of physical or economic reasons. Anyone trying to practice abortion without the consent of the woman will be prosecuted, including the doctors. If a woman is married, consent from her spouse is also needed to approve abortions for socioeconomic reasons, although the rule doesn't apply if she is in a broken marriage, suffering abuse, or other domestic issues. Despite the partner's consent not being necessary for unmarried women and women who were impregnated by abusive partners or through rape, many doctors and medical institutions seek a signature from the man believed to have made the woman pregnant for fear of getting into legal trouble, rights advocates say.[2][3]

In April 2023, [medical abortion](/source/Medical_abortion) was approved in Japan for pregnancies up to 9 weeks of gestation.[4] [The Japanese health ministry](/source/Ministry_of_Health%2C_Labour_and_Welfare) approved an abortifacent from British pharmaceutical company Linepharma.[5] Women who have a medical abortion are required to stay in the hospital for the abortion to be confirmed by the prescribing physician. Any other person who is not a certified gynecologist or obstetrician who aborts a fetus using abortifacients that is not approved by the Japanese Health Ministry will be penalized.[6]

Abortions are not covered under Japanese insurance.[4] Surgical abortions can cost between 100,000 yen and 200,000 yen; the total cost of the abortion pill and a medical consultation would be around 100,000 yen, according to the [NHK](/source/NHK).[7]

Since the approval of the Mefeego pill pack in April 2023, the government conducted a survey that concluded there were no severe side effects and complications as a result of the newly approved medication. In August 2024, the Ministry of Health announced it is now considering the expansion of medical abortion to outpatient clinics that can coordinate inpatient facilities in the case of emergencies.[8]

## History

In 1842, the Shogunate in [Japan](/source/Japan) banned induced [abortion](/source/Abortion) in [Edo](/source/Edo), but the law did not affect the rest of the country until 1869, when abortion was banned nationwide.[9][10] However, the crime was rarely punished unless the conception was a result of adultery or the woman died as a result of the abortion procedure.[9]

According to the scholar Tiana Norgern, the abortion policy under the [Meiji government](/source/Meiji_government) was similar to that of the [Edo period](/source/Edo_period), and was fueled by the belief that a large population would yield more military and political influence on the international stage.[9] In 1868, the emperor banned midwives from performing abortions, and in 1880, Japan's first penal code declared abortion a crime.[9] The punishments for abortion grew more severe in 1907 when the penal code revised: women could be incarcerated for up to a year for having an abortion; practitioners could be jailed for up to seven.[9] The Criminal Abortion Law of 1907 is still technically in effect today, but other legislation has overridden its effects.[9]

In 1923, doctors were granted legal permission to perform emergency abortions to save the mother's life; abortions performed under different, less life-threatening circumstances were still prosecuted.[9] In 1931, the Alliance for Reform of the Anti-Abortion Law (*Datai Hō Kaisei Kiseikai*) was formed by [Abe Isoo](/source/Abe_Isoo) and argued that "it is a woman's right not to bear a child she does not want, and abortion is an exercise of this right".[9] This organization believed that abortion should be made legal in circumstances in which there was a high chance of [genetic disorder](/source/Genetic_disorder); in which a woman was poor, on public assistance, or divorced; in which it endangered the woman's health; and in which the pregnancy was a result of rape.[9] In 1934, the Fifth All-Japan [Women's Suffrage](/source/Women's_suffrage) Congress wrote up resolutions calling for the legalization of abortion as well as contraception.[9] This did not result in any immediate reaction from the government at the time, but after the war, these resolutions were consulted when drafting legislation legalizing abortion.[*[citation needed](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:Citation_needed)*]

Fearing a decline in birth rates in the following decades, the nationalist [Konoe cabinet](/source/Second_Konoe_Cabinet) decided to implement a series of pro-natalist measures. On 22 January 1941, the Outline for the Establishment of Population Policy (人口政策確立要綱, *Jinkō Seisaku Kakuritsu Yōkō*) was approved, which included among its policies the prohibition of abortion.[11][12]

In 1940, the National Eugenic Law stopped short of explicitly calling abortion legal by outlining a set of procedures a doctor had to follow in order to perform an abortion; these procedures included getting second opinions and submitting reports, though these could be ignored when it was an emergency.[9] This was a daunting and complicated process that many physicians did not want to deal with, and some sources attribute the fall in abortion rate between 1941 and 1944 from 18,000 to 1,800 to this legislation.[9]

After World War II, Japan found itself in a population crisis. In 1946, 10 million people were declared at risk of starvation, and between the years 1945 and 1950, the population increased by 11 million.[9] In 1948, in the wake of the [Miyuki Ishikawa](/source/Miyuki_Ishikawa) case, Japan legalized abortion under special circumstances.[13] The [Eugenic Protection Law](/source/Eugenics_in_Japan) of 1948 made Japan one of the first countries in Asia to legalize induced abortion. In 1949, a revision passed which provided abortion in the case of extreme physical or economic distress to the mother.[14] A further stipulation was added in 1952 requiring that the mother meet an economic threshold of poor living conditions to obtain an abortion.[15] The whole law was revised as the Maternal Health Protection Law in 1996.[16]

## Statistics

### Abortion statistics

	- Statistics on abortion in Japan

		- Number of abortions

		- Abortions per 1,000 women

		- Number of abortions by age group

		- Abortions per live births

[17] Number of abortions Abortion rate （per live births） Live births 1949 101,601 3.8 2,696,638 1950 320,150 13.7 2,337,507 1951 458,757 21.5 2,137,689 1952 798,193 39.8 2,005,162 1953 1,068,066 57.2 1,868,040 1954 1,143,059 64.6 1,769,580 1955 1,170,143 67.6 1,730,692 1956 1,159,288 69.6 1,665,278 1957 1,122,316 71.6 1,566,713 1958 1,128,231 68.2 1,653,469 1959 1,098,853 67.6 1,626,088 1960 1,063,256 66.2 1,627,939 1961 1,035,329 65.1 1,611,772 1962 985,351 60.9 1,639,631 1963 955,092 57.6 1,681,242 1964 878,748 51.2 1,737,277 1965 843,248 46.2 1,844,452 1966 808,378 59.4 1,378,968 1967 747,490 38.6 1,956,725 1968 757,389 40.5 1,893,219 1969 744,451 39.4 1,910,927 1970 732,033 37.8 1,955,277 1971 739,674 37.0 2,022,204 1972 732,653 35.9 2,059,533 1973 700,532 33.5 2,091,983 1974 679,837 33.5 2,029,989 1975 671,597 35.3 1,901,440 1976 664,106 36.2 1,832,617 1977 641,242 36.5 1,755,100 1978 618,044 36.2 1,708,643 1979 613,676 37.4 1,642,580 1980 598,084 37.9 1,576,889 1981 596,569 39.0 1,529,455 1982 590,299 39.0 1,515,392 1983 568,363 37.7 1,508,687 1984 568,916 38.2 1,489,786 1985 550,127 38.4 1,431,577 1986 527,900 38.2 1,382,976 1987 497,756 37.0 1,346,658 1988 486,146 37.0 1,314,006 1989 466,876 37.4 1,246,802 1990 456,797 37.4 1,221,585 1991 436,299 35.7 1,223,245 1992 413,032 34.2 1,208,989 1993 386,807 32.6 1,188,282 1994 364,350 29.4 1,238,328 1995 343,024 28.9 1,187,064 1996 338,867 28.1 1,206,555 1997 337,799 28.3 1,191,665 1998 333,220 27.7 1,203,147 1999 337,288 28.6 1,177,669 2000 341,146 28.7 1,190,547 2001 341,588 29.2 1,170,662 2002 329,326 28.5 1,153,855 2003 319,831 28.5 1,123,610 2004 301,673 27.2 1,110,721 2005 289,127 27.2 1,062,530 2006 276,352 25.3 1,092,674 2007 256,672 23.6 1,089,818 2008 242,326 22.2 1,091,156 2009 226,878 21.2 1,070,036 2010 212,694 19.9 1,071,305 2011 202,106 19.2 1,050,807 2012 196,639 19.0 1,037,231 2013 186,253 18.1 1,029,817 2014 181,905 18.1 1,003,539 2015 176,388 17.5 1,005,721 2016 168,015 17.2 977,242 2017 164,621 17.4 946,146 2018 161,741 17.6 918,400 2019 156,430 18.0 865,239 2020 141,433 16.8 840,832 2021 126,174 15.5 811,604 2022 122,725 15.9 770,747 2023 126,734 17.4 727,288 2024 127,992 18.7 686,061

Overall, in 2019, the total number of abortions officially reported was 156,430,[17] representing a 56% decrease from the number reported for 2000. The overall abortion rate changed from 22.3 to 15.3 abortions per 1,000 women aged 15–39 years. Going further back, there were 598,084 abortions in 1980 and 1,063,256 in 1960.[17] In 2019, 49 abortions were reported for girls aged 13 and under, and a further 3,904 for girls aged 14–17. Some 39,805 abortions were performed on women aged 20–24.[17]

In 2020, according to the [health ministry](/source/Ministry_of_Health%2C_Labour_and_Welfare), there were 145,340 abortions, down 7.3% from the previous year.[3]

According to researchers, in more than 99 percent of cases, the reason reported for performing an abortion was to protect the woman's health; this percentage remained constant during 1975–1995.[18] The same researchers also suggest that while official figures may be lower than the true rate of abortion due to under-reporting by doctors in order to lower tax bills and protect patient identities, trends may be "reasonably accurate".[18]

## Legislation

Maternal Health Protection Law Japanese Parliament Citation Law No.156 of 1948 Enacted by Ashida Cabinet Royal assent Emperor Hirohito Signed June 28, 1948 Commenced July 13, 1948 Legislative history Introduced by Shidzue Kato Passed September 4, 1948 Amends In 1996 the Eugenic Protection Law was revised as the Maternal Health Protection. Repeals Chapter 4 and 5 Status: Current legislation

### Background

See also: [Eugenics in Japan](/source/Eugenics_in_Japan)

The whole law was enacted as the [Eugenic Protection Law](https://ja.wikipedia.org/wiki/%E5%84%AA%E7%94%9F%E4%BF%9D%E8%AD%B7%E6%B3%95) in 1948 and revised as the Maternal Health Protection Law in 1996.[19]

### The content of Maternal Health Protection Law

Source: [20]

- Chapter 1 – General Provisions (Articles 1–2)

Chapter 1 sets forth the purpose of the Act, which is to safeguard the life and health of mothers by establishing regulations concerning sterilization and induced abortion. Under the former Eugenic Protection Law, the stated objectives included the prevention of the birth of offspring deemed genetically inferior from a [eugenic perspective](/source/Eugenics), in addition to the protection of maternal life and health.

- Chapter 2 – [Sterilization](/source/Sterilization_(medicine)) (formerly referred to as Eugenic Surgery; Articles 3–13)

Under the previous legislation, eugenic surgery (i.e., sterilization) could be carried out on individuals or their spouses in cases involving hereditary psychiatric disorders, hereditary physical conditions, or [leprosy](/source/Leprosy). It was also applicable to genetic relatives in cases of hereditary mental illness. Moreover, in instances involving specific hereditary mental or physical conditions, if a medical practitioner deemed it necessary for the public good to prevent transmission of such disorders, sterilization could be performed—irrespective of the individual’s or their spouse’s consent—following deliberation by the Prefectural Eugenic Protection Review Board.

In contrast, the current Act permits sterilization to be conducted without formal examination, provided there is consent from both the individual and their spouse. Additionally, Articles 4 through 13 of the previous legislation have been repealed.

- Chapter 3 – Maternity Protection (Articles 14–15)

Article 14 provides that designated physicians may perform induced abortions with the consent of the individual and their spouse if any of the following conditions are met:

1. Continuation of the pregnancy or childbirth is likely to pose a serious threat to the mother’s health, whether for physical or economic reasons.

1. The pregnancy occurred as a result of sexual assault involving violence or intimidation, or during circumstances in which the individual was unable to resist or decline.

- Chapter 4 – *Repealed* (Formerly established the Prefectural Eugenic Protection Review Board)

- Chapter 5 – *Repealed* (Formerly established Eugenic Protection Counseling Centers)

- Chapter 6 – Notification, Prohibitions, and Other Provisions (Articles 25–28)

- Chapter 7 – Penalties (Articles 29 to 34)

## Contraceptive use

A scenario study was conducted to assess the extent to which the [unintended pregnancy](/source/Unintended_pregnancy) rate in Japan, for the period when [oral contraceptives](/source/Oral_contraceptive) (OC) had not yet been legalized for family planning purposes and couples relied mainly on [condoms](/source/Condom), might change if more women were to use OC. Data provided by the 1994 Japanese National Survey on Family Planning were used to construct scenarios for national contraceptive use. Annual failure rates of contraceptive methods and nonuse were applied to the contraceptive use scenarios, to obtain estimates of the annual number of contraceptive failure-related pregnancies. Subsequently, contraceptive practice situations assuming higher OC use rates were defined, and the associated change in the number of contraceptive failure-related pregnancies was estimated for each situation. It emerged that OC use rates of 15% decreased the expected number of unintended pregnancies by 13–17%, whereas use rates of 25% resulted in decreases of 22–29% and use rates of 50% in decreases of 45–58%. The findings were reasonably robust to variation in the assumptions that were made. In conclusion, each theoretical percentage increase in the OC use rate in Japan was found to lead to a roughly equivalent percentage decrease in the number of unintended pregnancies.[21]

[Oral contraceptives](/source/Oral_contraceptive_pill) were legalized in 1999. [Emergency contraceptive pills](/source/Emergency_contraceptive_pills) were approved by the [Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare of Japan](/source/Ministry_of_Health%2C_Labour_and_Welfare_(Japan)) in 2011.[22]

## See also

- [Abortion law](/source/Abortion_law)

- [Birth control in Japan](/source/Birth_control_in_Japan)

- [Eugenics in Japan](/source/Eugenics_in_Japan)

## References

Wikimedia Commons has media related to [Abortion in Japan](https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/Category:Abortion_in_Japan).

1. **[^](#cite_ref-1)** "母体保護法の施行について" [On Enforcement of the Maternal Health Act]. [*Act No. 122 of 25 September 1996*](https://www.mhlw.go.jp/web/t_doc?dataId=00ta9675&dataType=1&pageNo=1) (in Japanese). [Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare](/source/Ministry_of_Health%2C_Labour_and_Welfare).

1. **[^](#cite_ref-2)** Nakagawa, Satoko (March 15, 2021). ["No consent from spouse needed for abortion in broken marriages in Japan: ministry"](http://www.mainichi.jp/english/articles/20210315/p2a/00m/0na/016000c/). *[The Mainichi](/source/The_Mainichi)*.

1. ^ [***a***](#cite_ref-guardian2015_3-0) [***b***](#cite_ref-guardian2015_3-1) Osumi, Magdalena (Jun 28, 2022). ["Abortion legal and apolitical in Japan, but cost and consent present barriers"](https://www.japantimes.co.jp/news/2022/06/28/national/social-issues/abortion-japan-rights-explainer/). *[The Japan Times](/source/The_Japan_Times)*.

1. ^ [***a***](#cite_ref-:0_4-0) [***b***](#cite_ref-:0_4-1) ["Japan approves abortion pill for the first time"](https://www.theguardian.com/world/2023/apr/29/japan-approves-abortion-pill-for-the-first-time). *The Guardian*. Agence France-Presse. 2023-04-29. [ISSN](/source/ISSN_(identifier)) [0261-3077](https://search.worldcat.org/issn/0261-3077). Retrieved 2023-05-09.

1. **[^](#cite_ref-5)** ["Health ministry formally approves Japan's first abortion pill"](https://www.japantimes.co.jp/news/2023/04/29/national/science-health/japan-health-ministry-approves-abortion-pill/). *The Japan Times*. 2023-04-29. Retrieved 2023-05-09.

1. **[^](#cite_ref-6)** Kaneda, Yudai (2023-11-28). ["Japan's approval of oral abortion pills: A new era of opportunities and challenges in aligning with global standards"](https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC10685794). *Women's Health (London, England)*. **19** 17455057231216533. [doi](/source/Doi_(identifier)):[10.1177/17455057231216533](https://doi.org/10.1177%2F17455057231216533). [PMC](/source/PMC_(identifier)) [10685794](https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC10685794). [PMID](/source/PMID_(identifier)) [38017657](https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/38017657).

1. **[^](#cite_ref-7)** Benoza, Kathleen (2023-04-21). ["Japan panel approves nation's first abortion pill"](https://www.japantimes.co.jp/news/2023/04/21/national/abortion-pill-japan-approval/). *The Japan Times*. Retrieved 2023-05-09.

1. **[^](#cite_ref-8)** ["Japan's health ministry considers wider availability for abortion pill"](https://www.japantimes.co.jp/news/2024/08/05/japan/society/abortion-pill-clinics/). *The Japan Times*. 2024-08-05. Retrieved 2024-10-14.

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1. **[^](#cite_ref-Obayashi,_M._1982_10-0)** Obayashi, M. (1982). Historical background of the acceptance of induced abortion. Josanpu Zasshi 36(12), 1011-6. Retrieved April 12, 2006.

1. **[^](#cite_ref-11)** Sugita, Yoneyuki (2018-12-06). [*Japan's Shifting Status in the World and the Development of Japan's Medical Insurance Systems*](https://books.google.com/books?id=Uvx9DwAAQBAJ). Springer. p. 133. [ISBN](/source/ISBN_(identifier)) [978-981-13-1660-9](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Special:BookSources/978-981-13-1660-9).

1. **[^](#cite_ref-12)** ["資源化される身体:戦前・戦中・戦後の人口政策をめぐって"](http://www.jstage.jst.go.jp/article/tits1996/13/4/13_4_21/_article/-char/ja/). *Trends in the Sciences* (in Japanese). **13** (4): 21–26. 2008. [doi](/source/Doi_(identifier)):[10.5363/tits.13.4_21](https://doi.org/10.5363%2Ftits.13.4_21). [ISSN](/source/ISSN_(identifier)) [1884-7080](https://search.worldcat.org/issn/1884-7080).

1. **[^](#cite_ref-National_Diet_Library_13-0)** [第１４７回国会 国民福祉委員会 第１０号](https://web.archive.org/web/20081022104731/http://kokkai.ndl.go.jp/SENTAKU/sangiin/147/0008/14703150008010a.html) (in Japanese). [National Diet Library](/source/National_Diet_Library). 2000-03-15. Archived from [the original](http://kokkai.ndl.go.jp/SENTAKU/sangiin/147/0008/14703150008010a.html) on 2008-10-22. Retrieved 2008-03-18.

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1. ^ [***a***](#cite_ref-stats_17-0) [***b***](#cite_ref-stats_17-1) [***c***](#cite_ref-stats_17-2) [***d***](#cite_ref-stats_17-3) [人口動態・保健社会統計室, 厚生労働省](https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=%E5%8E%9A%E7%94%9F%E5%8A%B4%E5%83%8D%E7%9C%81&action=edit&redlink=1) (2021-02-18). ["令和元年度衛生行政報告例 付表F07 人工妊娠中絶実施率（女子人口千対），年齢階級・年次別"](https://www.e-stat.go.jp/stat-search/files?page=1&query=%E8%A1%9B%E7%94%9F%E8%A1%8C%E6%94%BF%E5%A0%B1%E5%91%8A%E4%BE%8B%20%E6%AF%8D%E4%BD%93&layout=dataset&stat_infid=000032045225&metadata=1&data=1) (CSV). *政府統計の総合窓口（ｅ－Ｓｔａｔ）*. Retrieved 2021-09-21.

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1. **[^](#cite_ref-21)** Oddens B.J. & Lolkema, A. "A scenario study of oral contraceptive use in Japan: Toward fewer unintended pregnancies". *Contraception*, Volume 58, Issue 1, July 1998, pages 13–19.

1. **[^](#cite_ref-22)** [“Sosei Receives Approval From Japan MHLW for NorLevo(R) TABLETS 0.75mg Emergency Contraceptive Pill”, Sosei Group Corporation press release, 23 February 2011](http://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/sosei-receives-approval-from-japan-mhlw-for-norlevor-tablets-075mg-emergency-contraceptive-pill-116715299.html)

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Adapted from the Wikipedia article [Abortion in Japan](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Abortion_in_Japan) by Wikipedia contributors ([contributor history](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Abortion_in_Japan?action=history)). Available under [Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/). Changes may have been made.