Rind wrote:

>I was wondering has anyone in this group every researched this topic
>for a college project or anything. I know that abortion exists in
>Japan, but I was wondering

Have you tried googling? No wish to disparage the people who've replied
to you so far, but a lot of what I've read here doesn't ring true for
me, and I got much more informative insights (that corresponded quite
well with things I'd read or heard previously) just by doing an exact
phrase search for "abortion in Japan".

The first dozen sites contain some apparent contradictions. For
example, one site says that "Counselling is not provided, nor is it
assumed that you will suffer any kind of moral dilemma", while others
go into great detail about "a set of [Buddhistic] practices dating from
the 17th century to help women deal with the anguish and sadness
surrounding the deaths of fetuses and young children, whether from
miscarriages, stillbirths, infancy deaths or abortions". But what that
really boils down to, I think, is that in Japan Buddhism caters to a
wide range of psychological and spiritual needs, whereas medical
counselling in general is much less developed than in the West.

>is there any stigma attached to it

Not all that much, from what I've heard, and most of the websites I
checked confirmed that. For example:

"Unlike in America...there has never been a taboo against abortion in
Japan"
(http://www2.gol.com/users/coynerhm/japan_oks_viagra_in_record_time.htm)

One theory mentioned on several websites was that the doctors who
provide the abortions make a lot of money out of it, and have fostered
an attitude of regarding it as a form of birth control. The pill was
actually illegal for years, and is still much less used than in the
West. Even Japanese feminists have sometimes opposed it, arguing that
it not only puts the onus of responsibility onto the woman but also
exposes her to potential health risks.

> are Japanese on the by and large pro-life or pro-choice

One scholarly study I googled up said the number of people who improved
unconditionally of abortion had risen steadily since the 1970s, and was
23% in 2000, with 60% giving conditional approval.(Google for
"Contraceptive Use and Induced Abortion in Japan" to find this
article.)

> do Japanese people frown upon married women having abortions

I don't think so. Condoms remain the main form of contraception in
Japan (used by about 80% of couples), and the fact that they don't
always work properly apparently accounts in large part for the fact
that about one third of pregnancies are "mistimed" (see the link I gave
above; although its main topic is the use of Viagra it gives a pretty
good run-down of sexual politics in Japan, including the issue of
abortion). Many of those unwanted pregnancies happen to couples who are
planning to have a child further down the line, but just aren't ready
yet.

There's probably no country where more preparation is needed (or is
perceived to be needed) for the successful raising of children than
Japan. Cost is a big factor. So is the fact that many company employees
are subject to being sent to work hundreds of miles away from their
families, sometimes for years at a stretch. But people will even plan
live changes, such as moving to an area that has a particularly
prestigious school that they hope their child will be able to go to.

All of these things combine to produce a fairly pragmatic attitude
towards abortion among most people, and the abortion rate continues to
be high. 350,000 a year was the first figure I googled up, then
410,000, then an estimate by the Asia/Pacific Research Center that the
actual number of abortions is two to three times the "official" number
(which would put it at around 1,000,000). A more reasonable estimate is
that perhaps 100,000 abortions a year go unreported, and the actual
total (official and unofficial) may be around half a million a year.

>The Japanese boyfriend of my Irish friend apparently said that in Japan
>its believed that women who terminate pregnancies NEVER want children
>.... mmmm!?!
>He went on to say that the reason they believe that is because by
>having a termination you are telling your body to reject pregnancy now
>and in the future.

I think this is a minority view. I won't go so far as to say it's
baloney, but it may be (insisting that X, Y or Z is a cultural
imperative is a good way of getting one's own way in intercultural
relationships!).

John
http://rarebooksinjapan.com