There was an article on the Japan Today website last week about the number of teenage abortions performed in 2003:

Government reports 40,475 minors had abortions in 2003

TOKYO — The Ministry of Health, Labor and Welfare said Tuesday the number of reported abortions by minors aged 15-20 in 2003 came to 40,475, slightly down from the previous year but still double from 10 years earlier.

According to its survey of clinics, the overall number of abortions last year came to 319,831. For 19-year-olds, the number stood at some 14,600, while for 18-year-olds, it came to about 11,100. There were 7,900 abortions among 17-year-olds. There were 483 abortions for those under 15, according to the survey.

A related Japanese article reported that the figures show that 1 in 50 19-year-olds and 1/64 18-year-olds had abortions last year alone. . . and those are just the reported numbers! Crazy, eh?

While it’s apparent that Japanese teenagers share their Western counterparts’ penchant for doin’ the nasty, sex education is essentially non-existent in this country. Furthermore, decades of propaganda spewed by the government have left most women (and, ridiculously, many doctors) convinced that birth control pills cause everything from infertility to cancer. Combine the lack of information about birth control options with doctors’ financial incentives to perform abortions rather than prescribe the pill, and you can see how abortion is a highly lucrative business in Japan. (From what I’ve heard, the going rate is about 1,000,000 yen a pop — approx. US$950.)

An interesting cultural aspect of abortion in Japan are jizo, stone statues depicting the Buddhist monk Jizo Bosatsu, the protector of travelers and the souls of departed children (who, according to Japanese tradition, receive devine punishment for bringing grief to their parents. . . the little bastards). Mothers who have lost an unborn child usually dedicate a statue of jizo and adorn it with clothing, toys, etc. to encourage the deity to take special care of their child’s spirit.

Back in July, I happened to pass through Zojoji Temple on my way to the Tokyo Tower and was rather shocked to see the rows upon rows of jizo statues housed there. As I wandered through the temple grounds, I witnessed a middle-aged woman and her teenage daughter cleaning and decorating one of the statues — a very moving sight.

Here are some photos: