This suggestion was part of a broader discussion about Japan's declining birth rate and the challenges the country faces due to its aging population, as reported by the South China Morning Post. Naoki Hyakuta's shocking suggestion was made in a video on November 8, where he discussed measures to increase the country's birth rate. He proposed banning women from marrying after 25 and subjecting them to forced hysterectomy (removal of the uterus) at 30. He believed this would encourage them to have children and reverse the declining fertility trend. The politician also suggested restricting women's access to university education from the age of 18, ostensibly to focus on producing more children.
This anti-utopian idea was met with a knife and prompted Hyakuta to apologise and say his comments were only hypothetical and were not his personal views. Many chastised him for his regressive and discriminatory comments that raised concerns about women's rights and reproductive freedom.
Hyakuta clarified that these ideas were formulated as a "science fiction plot" to spark discussion, and were not meant to be taken literally. He admitted that his comments were "extremely rude" and stressed that he was not advocating such drastic measures against women.""My point was that we cannot change the social structure unless we do something that goes that far. I want to retract my remarks and apologize,'' he said.
Famous actress Chizuru Higashi expressed her outrage at this case: ''The idea of taking away your reproductive ability if you haven't had a child by the age of 30 is horrifying, even in jest. Besides, do you think the decline in fertility is women's fault? Women can't get pregnant on their own and they don't have the confidence about having and raising children because their employment and income is not stable."
Japan's fertility crisis is a huge problem. The country faces the challenges of an ageing population and a shrinking workforce. This proposal followed other controversial measures aimed at promoting marriage and fertility, such as incentives for women to marry men from rural areas, which were also met with opposition.
The health ministry said 350,074 births were registered in Japan between January and June, down 5.7% compared with the same period last year. | BGNES
