TOKYO: Plans for Japan's first "baby hatch," where parents can drop off unwanted infants anonymously, are suffering labour pains as the country struggles with its declining birth rate.
Ministers of the conservative government are in a dilemma as they have found no legal reason to block the plan, which advocates say can help boost the number of births here, but are concerned about the moral implications of it.
A Roman Catholic hospital in Kumamoto, a provincial city in southern Japan, applied in December for official approval of the system modeled on the "Babyklappe" in Germany.
The system, said to be common in medieval times, was revived in 1996 by a Christian group in Germany, where there are reportedly now about 80 hatches.
The baby hatch at the Jikei Hospital in Kumamoto would be called "the cradle of storks" and set up in the lobby like a post box, according to hospital officials.
The cradle is equipped with a warmer and an alarm that goes off when a baby is deposited.
source.
Sanae Takaichi, the minister charged with finding ways to boost the population, is a sworn foe of abortion and has opposed the baby hatch.
"It is useless if it results in promoting irresponsible abandonment of children," she said
I'm just intrigued that there's a Japanese politician who opposes abortion. Abortion is fairly common in Japan.
I googled her name and came up with this profile. It says she is an admirer of Margaret Thatcher. I wonder if conservatives in Japan are being influenced by pro-life beliefs in the west. Just wondering out loud.
UPDATE: I just found this article,which explains that adoption in Japan is rare.
UPDATE #2 Info on abortion in Japan including ‘Mizuko Jizo’.
UPDATE #3 Another interesting article about abortion in Japan. They may not think it's murder, but they sure don't like abortion.
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