Japanese government takes steps toward approving birth control pill
Reproductive Freedom News 4(19): 5-6
1995
PMID: 12319897 Document Number: 269526
On September 12, 1995, the Central Pharmaceutical Affairs Council of Japan recommended approval of low-dose oral contraceptives as a method of family planning. Doctors should be able to prescribe the pills after the standing members of the Council, part of the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare, meet next March. High-dose oral contraceptives can be obtained currently to treat menstrual irregularities, although many of the 200,000 prescriptions written annually are used for family planning. Approval for the low-dose contraceptives has been slow because of concerns regarding a possible relaxation of sexual mores (1965); adverse side effects (until 1987 when the Japanese Ministry of Health initiated clinical trials that established the safety and efficacy of the contraceptives); increased rates of human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) infection (1992); a higher number of drug reimbursement claims under the national health insurance system; and a decline in Japan's birthrate. Japan's birthrate fell from 4.5 children per woman in 1947 to 1.5 in 1993. 80% of contraceptive users rely on condom; 22% use the rhythm method, usually in conjunction with the condom; 7% use the IUD; and less than 2% use sterilization. Sterilization is only permitted for married couples and only when the woman's life or health is in danger, or either spouse has a mental illness, leprosy, or a hereditary disorder.