Naoki Hyakuta, the head of Japan’s Conservative Party, called on women to be barred from marriage after age 25 and obligated to undergo hysterectomies at 30, i.e., removal of the uterus. He said such measures would push women to begin families earlier and considered it necessary in fighting Japan’s birth rate and aging population.
Hyakuta’s declarations didn’t stop at that. He also proposed that women be forbidden entry into universities after the age of 18 years, and they would thereby become once again focused to marriage and childbearing.
A wave of backlash followed his views, widely condemned as being retrogressive and misogynistic in direction.
However, Hyakuta apologized, saying his words should not be taken as real policy suggestions but as part of a “science-fiction storyline.” He said he had only meant to “stimulate thought” on the grave threat posed to Japan’s birth rate and meant by no means to endorse actual policies of forced surgery or marital bans. His attempt to describe the statements as hypothetical was seen by many as a way to downplay the damage inflicted by those words.
Some of the people who condemned Hyakuta’s statement include actress Chizuru Higashi, who believes that even suggesting a forced removal of reproductive abilities is “terrifying” and really points to a wrong perception of a fact that women are solely to blame for Japan’s low fertility rate. Issui Ogawa, science fiction author, was of the view that Hyakuta was trying to pass his words off as work of fiction, which undermined the seriousness of his statement.
Hyakuta’s own party also disassociated themselves from his words. The elder statesman of the Conservative Party, Takashi Kawamura, apologized and expressed regret for the comment on behalf of Hyakuta.
Japan’s Fertility Crisis
Serious demographic challenge Japan faces. The country registered 350,074 births in the first half of this year, down 5.7 percent from the same period last year. For long, Japan has been struggling to come up with policies that promote marriages and families. Plans meant to encourage more women to marry men from rural areas have been the simplistic measures or out of touch with the values of modernity.
Japan’s lower birth rate has been attributed to bigger social and economic concerns such as insecurity in employment and even discrimination at work due to gender. The shallow family setup back at home, long working hours, and average pay have made many uninterested in having children. The controversy over Hyakuta’s statement places greater pressure on the Japanese government to work on these issues rather than shift them all on to the shoulders of women.
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