Japan treats women’s bodies as national property through sterilization laws rooted in wartime eugenics, forcing five plaintiffs to sue for the right to say “maternity is not my body’s purpose.”
Story Snapshot
- Japan’s “maternity protection” law bans voluntary sterilization without spousal consent and strict health risks, originating from 1940 eugenics policies.
- Landmark lawsuit verdict due imminently challenges these restrictions as unconstitutional, spotlighting reproductive autonomy.
- Politician Naoki Hyakuta proposed banning women’s marriages after 25 and mandatory hysterectomies at 30 to fight birth rate collapse, later apologizing.
- Births hit record low of 758,631 in 2023, with 2024 projections below 700,000 amid economic instability and work culture pressures.
- Japan stands among only eight nations severely restricting sterilization, defying global norms for bodily self-determination.
Lawsuit Challenges Eugenics-Era Sterilization Restrictions
Five women, led by 29-year-old Kajiya, filed a constitutional challenge against Japan’s maternity protection law. Courts scheduled a verdict for next week in March 2026. The law permits female sterilization only if a woman has multiple children with health risks or faces life-threatening pregnancy dangers. Spousal consent remains mandatory even then. Kajiya traveled to the United States for tubal ligation, calling it her definitive rejection of government control over her reproduction.
Historical Roots in Wartime Population Control
Japan enacted National Eugenics laws in 1940, viewing women as state resources for population growth during war. Authorities revised these in 1948, sterilizing about 25,000 people, many involuntarily. This framework endures today, uniquely restrictive among democracies. Lead lawyer Michiko Kameishi argues it manages fertile women as potential maternal bodies, denying them independent self-determination. Male vasectomies face laxer enforcement at urology clinics, exposing gender disparities.
Hyakuta’s Extreme Proposals Ignite Backlash
Naoki Hyakuta, leader of Japan’s Conservative Party with three House seats, proposed on November 8, 2024, banning women from marrying after age 25 and mandating hysterectomies at 30 to reverse birth declines. Actress Chizuru Higashi labeled it terrifying, blaming unstable employment and incomes for women’s reluctance to bear children. Science fiction author Issui Ogawa condemned framing such ideas as hypothetical fiction. Hyakuta apologized days later, retracting as overly radical for social transformation.
Demographic Crisis Fuels Policy Desperation
Japan recorded 758,631 births in 2023, the lowest since 1899 and down 5.1% from 2022. January to June 2024 saw 350,074 births, a 5.7% drop. Projections forecast under 700,000 for full-year 2024 despite a 0.9% marriage uptick to 248,513. Factors include declining marriages, grueling corporate culture, women’s job instability, and scant contraception—condoms dominate at 0.5% sterilization and 2.7% pill use, with no injections or implants available.
Japan blocks women from sterilization in fight against plummeting birth rateshttps://t.co/G5QGK0m854
— Human Events (@HumanEvents) March 17, 2026
Government Defends Paternalism Against Autonomy
The government upholds restrictions to shield women from future regret, claiming they ensure self-determination on childbearing. This stance clashes with plaintiffs’ demands for bodily rights. Common sense aligns with conservative values of family and personal responsibility, yet facts show economic fixes—not coercion—address root causes like work-life imbalance. A plaintiff win could enshrine reproductive choice constitutionally, aligning Japan with over 70 nations permitting sterilization freely.
Sources:
Japanese politician sparks outrage with proposal to ban marriage for women over 25
Uterus removal for women at 30: Japan leader’s bizarre proposal to boost birth rate sparks backlash
We’re not wombs: Japan women seek rights to sterilization
Japan court calls women’s sterilization law ‘irrational’
