Abstract

While Japan ranks relatively high in overall health indicators with life expectancy and healthcare coverage, a plethora of problems exist when it comes to reproductive health. With the lack of comprehensive sexuality education, youth are at risk of experiencing sexual activity without essential knowledge. Furthermore, the dearth of access to reliable and affordable contraceptives, as well as the social stigma and various hurdles to obtain an abortion, impede women from exercising their sexual and reproductive autonomy. Focusing on the politics surrounding abortion, this chapter examines the structural mechanisms that obstruct people’s access to essential reproductive healthcare service. I argue that patriarchal notions in policy, conservative approach in education, and paternalism in medicine, along with the lack of respect for sexual and reproductive health and rights in all three fields, curtail people’s ability to exercise their agency in reproduction.