Impact of Government Policies on Birth Control

Japanese birth control policies often reflected government principles, paying little regard to women and their bodies. Until reproductive health rights were established, women were strictly dominated by the state to regulate population numbers. In other words, the government would alternate their stance towards birth control, depending on whether they desired to increase or decrease the national population. State-administered birth control policies first emerged in the Taisho period, under the militarist government of Imperial Japan.

Rise of Militarism in Japan. Photo from Facts and Details.

During the Taisho Democracy, political parties began competing in elections to decide the governing party of Japan. Consequently, politicians often underwent corrupt practices to boost their campaign finances in order to gather votes, which increasingly few popular anger as Japanese politics was considered inefficient and uncaring. Since the politicians were primarily focused on personal political agenda, rather than implementing policies to tackle poverty issues from the Great Depression, there was a rise of militarism and the direct rule of the military was eventually established. The militarist government promoted “Fukoku Kyohei” (great wealth, strong country) to aim for population increase within Japan, allowing the suppression of the initial advocates for birth control/legalization of abortion.³² Thus, contraception was viewed as a political taboo by the militarist government during the early phases of the Taisho period.

The Militarist Government in Japan. Photo from The Diplomat.

However, after Kato Shizue's return to Japan from studying abroad in the United States—where she met Margaret Sanger—she made use of her new-found knowledge surrounding birth control and initiated the birth control movement. Since the militarist government was still anti-birth control due to the advocacy of “Fukoku Kyohei”, Kato gathered support for her movement by incorporating mainstream political attitudes and government policies to the concept of birth control. For example, she “blamed overpopulation for territorial expansion and war”, and claimed that birth control was “the only way to solve Japan’s population problem”. From Kato's perspective, the “achievement of birth control would lead to world peace, while at the same time improving the quality of the Japanese population.” ³³ By the late 1920s—due to her tireless efforts to garner support—there existed government officials who began to recognize the practice as a potential solution to Japan’s population problem.

Despite the government alternating their stance towards being in favor of contraception, Japan entered the period of “Umeyo, Fuyaseyo” (give birth and multiply) in the 1940s. The slogan symbolized the return of pro-natalist ideologies to increase the Japanese population, and suffice the government’s desperate need of military personnel for World War II. In accord with the slogan, numerous government policies were implemented, namely: a complete ban on contraceptives, the reinforcement of police measures against birth control advocates, among others.³⁴ Due to the desire of increasing the birth rate in preparation for war, the government—once again—returned to opposing birth control practices.

Umeyo, Fuyaseyo. Give Birth and Multiply. From Goo.

Following the period of “Umeyo, Fuyaseyo” was Japan’s post-war years, which involved the extreme increase in birth rates, prompted by the dreadful living conditions that people were confronted with. This—in turn—caused a drastic surge of illegal “back-alley” abortions that were extremely unsafe for women, frequently resulting in unfortunate deaths.³⁵ The government acknowledged the soaring abortion rate, and began encouraging contraceptive methods again to tackle the issue.

As illustrated above, the Japanese government had immense authority and influence over birth control policies. The promotion of contraception solely depended on the government’s position regarding population control, such as “Fukoku Kyohei” and “Umeyo, Fuyaseyo”. Until the later years of Japan’s post-war period, women’s bodies and their rights were completely ignored. Considering the significant role played by the government is essential to fully comprehend the evolution of the Birth Control Movement in Japan.