The leader of Japan’s Conservative Party has caused a stir by advocating for a ban on women marrying after the age of 25 and removing the uterus at the age of 30.

This proposal was part of a general discussion on the country’s aging population and the problems it faces as a result of
declining birthrate.

Conservative Party leader Naoki Hyakuta apologized after his comments sparked immediate and sharp criticism.

Here’s everything we know about the controversy.

In a November 8 YouTube video, renowned writer and Conservative Party leader Naoki Hyakuta made this startling remark while talking about ways to increase the country’s birth rate.

The minister proposed banning women from marrying after the age of 25 and having forced hysterectomies (
procedures to remove the uterus) at the age of 30.

He argued that by doing so, the declining birthrate would be reversed and they would be encouraged to have children.

The politician also suggested banning women from going to college after the age of 18, presumably to focus on having more children.

This proposal comes after previous divisive policies to promote marriage and reproduction such as
incentives for women to marry men in rural areaswhich have also been criticized for being too simple and tone-deaf.

Hyakuta became recognized on the far right of Japanese politics in part because of his best-selling book Eternal Zerowhich was adapted into a film that glorified kamikaze pilots in the final days of World War II.

He was appointed to the board of national broadcaster NHK in 2013 by then-prime minister Shinzo Abe, a move that was criticized at the time for allegedly trying to control the organization’s editorial independence and policies.

Reaction

The regressive remarks raised concerns about women’s rights and reproductive freedom, drawing harsh criticism from politicians and others.

Expressing his anger on the matter, actor Chizuru Higashi, fittingly South China Morning Postsaid: “The idea of ​​removing your reproductive capacity if you haven’t had a child by the age of 30 is terrifying, even as a joke. Also, do you think the declining birthrate is women’s fault? Women cannot get pregnant on their own and do not have the confidence to give birth and raise children because their employment and income are not stable.”

Sumie Kawakami, a lecturer at Yamanashi Gakuin University and author of a book on gender issues, said This week in Asia“I can’t believe a Japanese politician said such a thing. I can only see these comments as a call to violence against women.”

Kawakami was concerned that, as in other parts of the world, particularly in the United States, when Donald Trump first announced his intention to run for president in 2015, the standard of political dialogue in Japan was, of also degrading. She argued that because fewer Japanese women were willing to speak out against misogyny than those in the US, the danger was probably much greater there.

“A weaker response will only serve as an incentive for the chauvinists,” she added.

Hyakuta’s party also denounced his proposal. In an interview with Fuji Television, Co-chairman Takashi Kawamura said he had asked Hyakuta to retract his remarks.

“I apologize on his behalf to Conservative Party supporters and the Japanese people,” he added.

excuses

During a speech in Nagoya on Sunday, Hyakuta later apologized, saying his remarks were purely hypothetical and did not represent his own views.

“I will withdraw them and apologize as there were people who found them offensive,” he said.

He explained that these concepts were not intended to be taken literally, but rather presented as a “science fiction story” to start the conversation. He added to X that he does not support such extreme actions against women and that his remarks were “extremely harsh”.

Kaori Arimoto, a senior member of his party who was with him on the program, complained that his remarks were unacceptable even as a “sci-fi” scenario.

Responding to this, Hyakuta said accordingly Kyodo news“We explain to you about the time limitation women face in giving birth) in a simple way.”

Social values, according to Arimoto, evolved rapidly, and many individuals no longer associated happiness with parenting.

Hyakuta responded that changes in social structure would be needed to reverse this trend, and theoretically proposed that women would decide to have children earlier if they believed there was a “time limit” on childbirth.

Hyakuta’s attempt to dismiss his comments as “science fiction” did not sit well with author Issui Ogawa, who argued that this language simply trivialized the harm his words were doing.

“I’m a science fiction writer, and I’m not amused that the grotesque idea of ​​removing a girl’s womb has been described as science fiction, while I’m also unhappy with the idea of ​​forcing her to marry and give birth— with penalties attached. he said.

Moreover, Kawakami said This week in Asia“He (Hyakuta) said something and now there’s been a strong backlash, he’s retracted it and apologized, but if there hadn’t been a response then he wouldn’t have felt the need to pretend he was only speaking hypothetically and – and apologize. .”

The fertility crisis in Japan

Japan is facing a serious fertility crisis as the country struggles with an aging population and a shrinking workforce.

According to preliminary official data released in September, the birth rate fell to its lowest level since 1969 in the first half of 2024.

According to preliminary data from the Ministry of Health, the nation recorded 350,074 births between January and June, which is 5.7% lower than in the same period of the previous year.

With contributions from agencies