national

Unplanned pregnancies occurring among teens, young women during pandemic

60 Comments

The requested article has expired, and is no longer available. Any related articles, and user comments are shown below.

© KYODO

©2024 GPlusMedia Inc.

60 Comments
Login to comment

I think in another time the higher pregnancy count would've been good news had they led to population growth. Now being the time that it is and knowing the likely cause for these pregnancies in teenagers (children!) no less is just sickening.

2 ( +11 / -9 )

Promiscuous bunch, aren't they? Perhaps if they had better sex education in high schools this would not be such a big problem.

-6 ( +16 / -22 )

Promiscuous bunch, aren't they?

Including the ones that are sexually abused?

20 ( +25 / -5 )

So forcing people to stay home leads to more sex... well duh.

18 ( +20 / -2 )

Teens (who are low covid19 risk) staying home while the adults (who are high risk) go to work is what you get when schools shut down. Same thing happened in the US.

9 ( +12 / -3 )

She said there were roughly 70 consultation calls in the six months from April to September, including the period of the nationwide state of emergency from early April to late May -- approaching the approximately 100 calls it received in the whole of 2019.

As cracaphat says, this is little evidence and could simply be variance.

Over half the calls weren't from teens, and what mature adults do is their own business. The article also makes the very damaging suggestion that schoolkids need club activities to keep them out of trouble.

16 ( +18 / -2 )

Hmm....if only there were something a man or a woman could do to prevent pregnancies in this day and age. Hmm...? Answers on a postcard?

14 ( +16 / -2 )

Unplanned pregnancies ? What does it mean ?

-18 ( +4 / -22 )

sex ed at schools might be a start. i knew about condoms way before I ever used one.

22 ( +23 / -1 )

How I wish that our productivity is as high as our reproductivity !

-11 ( +2 / -13 )

Sex Ed in schools needs to stop focusing on the fundamentals and educate teens on how their lives will change after a birth.

12 ( +12 / -0 )

@Kentarogaijin

use condoms, contraceptive pills

Yes!

IUDs, *

Difficult to get. I was stonewalled by my doctor. Had to go to a different one in the next city over.

morning after pill

By prescription only. By the time they can get it it's too late.

patches, rings, injections,

Don't exist here!

15 ( +16 / -1 )

This article tries to make men look vile and women saints.

1 ( +12 / -11 )

Some people cannot control themselves no matter what and ends up in a regretful situation pointing down with each other.

Do we need figures to get excited to blame here and there or the possible solution to avoid it that most people aren't aware of?

-2 ( +1 / -3 )

This may actually be the eureka moment of accidental discovery of a solution to the declining birthrate.

Reduce excessive 24hr entertainment, give people money, give them time to stay at home.

It doesn’t take a genius to figure out why rural southern Chiba has the highest teenage birthrate in Japan.

7 ( +10 / -3 )

Unplanned pregnancies ? What does it mean ?

The same as any unplanned event.

5 ( +6 / -1 )

OMG! Why are they not given education on safe sex and condoms?

8 ( +8 / -0 )

More negative outfall from the media fuelled, big pharma supported, panic driven overreaction to Covid.

School kids are in virtually zero danger of dying from Covid.

Put in very strong protections for the elderly and other vulnerable people AND let everyone else get on with life.

-8 ( +4 / -12 )

More sex is great news, so long as the parties are consenting. Japan needs a lot more sex going on in the teenage and old crowd. More pregnancies are great news, but only if wanted. Best to go with protection if one is in doubt about hat they want at any point in life. Pity about the almost exclusively negative lean of the article. While the negative issues raised are reasons for concern and should not be taken lightly, a little bit more about people enjoying sex together during trying times would be nice.

2 ( +4 / -2 )

Unplanned pregnancies ? What does it mean ?

If you have to ask, you should become a monk!

12 ( +12 / -0 )

School kids are in virtually zero danger of dying from Covid.

Time to get your head out of the sand! Just because they catch it, and dont have any symptoms, does not mean they are not affected by the virus.

The long term effects of the virus are still unknown, and there are cases popping up all over the world it seems, if news reports can be trusted, that these "kids" are having other health issues,.

Now you will probably say, "Oh they woulda/coulda had the same issues without corona" , but you can not say for sure it wasnt because of the virus that they are having other health problems!

Probably the most "famous" being the young college basketball player from the US. He caught corona, had no symptoms, got over it, started playing ball again, and after making a shot, suddenly collapsed on the floor, and was put into a coma, to relieve the stress on his heart.

He was a totally healthy kid, and no one will probably ever know "factually" if it was because of corona that he collapsed, but you can't say "factually" either that it wasnt.

9 ( +11 / -2 )

Stepfathers and stepbrothers living with non-blood relatives is a recipe for trouble.

Families are meant to be blood relations.

The take you have on almost all stories is quite baffling.

22 ( +22 / -0 )

Only stupid people do unplanned things.

You must be just a pleasure to travel with.

21 ( +22 / -1 )

morning after pill

By prescription only. By the time they can get it it's too late.

As for this point the Japanese government is pushing a new directive allowing OTC sale without a prescription. Hopefully it will soon be implemented.

Japan considering selling morning-after pill over the counter

https://www.japantimes.co.jp/news/2020/12/19/national/morning-after-pill-over-the-counter/

3 ( +3 / -0 )

Unplanned pregnancies ? What does it mean ?

If you're above the age of 14, then you should know what that means.

10 ( +11 / -1 )

Stepfathers and stepbrothers living with non-blood relatives is a recipe for trouble.

Families are meant to be blood relations.

Bizarre, ugly, insensitive comment.

6 ( +10 / -4 )

Planned or unplanned, this is a rare occasion to have more babies. Does the nation not want to welcome that?

3 ( +4 / -1 )

Proper Sex education is the key!

Teenagers having sex cannot be helped, all we can do is teach them how to do it safely.

3 ( +5 / -2 )

A class on this type of activity including safe and responsible sexual relations should be given to all youths. It should also be encouraged that this type of activity is not like a handshake or bow as it is an activity where care must be taken and attention must be followed at all times. Before engaging in any kind of activity, it is necessary to think long and hard as to how expensive, difficult, and stressful it is in having a child. Having a child is not like having a doll, it is a monumental task that is extremely difficult to handle. A good amount cannot handle the burden of having a child. It is important that one ask themselves "Can I really handle having the difficult task/burden of having a kid?". A video on how expensive, difficult, burdensome and stressful it is in having a child should be shown to all youths. Such video should illustrate in detail how other individuals who are stuck with a child have an extremely restricted schedule and individuals who do not have the burden of having a child have the freedom of having time with their friends, for themselves, for their careers and therefore having Freedom. Further, if one knows they do not want a child, a smart choice is a Vasectomy (along with the use of a condom). It is way more regretful having an unwanted pregnancy than never having a child.

If individuals asked themselves these questions, these types of incidents would occur less frequently.

0 ( +1 / -1 )

me and my wife is planning to adopt a baby. i hope this one will make it even few percent to be possible.

8 ( +9 / -1 )

the health ministry to launch a nationwide study in order to come up with more effective policies to support women.

yeah..........how about step 1, have sex education in schools...........wait, no one qualified to even teach those here. Isn't it the parents' job to also educate their kids? Oh no.......that's 100% the teacher's responsibilities.......

> "I had sex with my boyfriend every day during school closures. Now I'm worried about being pregnant," one caller told the group, according to the NPO's representative, Noriko Matsuoka.

Yup, put a jimmy hat on that. Oh wait, there's no education in schools, and parents don't say anything as well. ooops...... So will the boy's parents be forced to give some child support payments? Doubtful. This is Japan. They can't even do that with the adults.

They also say, as does government data, that sexual abuse is on the increase as an indirect consequence of the pandemic.

Yeah, with no Sexual Predators list or even consequences, people will run amuck. 100% the government's fault right there.

Nearly half of the calls were from teens, many of them young girls. With no school or club activities to attend, some of them had used social media to start "meeting up with people they don't know," Matsuoka said.

They could, you know. Get a part time job? And don't give me this "the school doesn't allow it" BS. The school isn't gonna pay the family's bills.

"Cases stand out of sexual assault from family members, such as brothers or stepfathers, while these girls were at home during school closures," said Sato. "Many that come for consultations do so as a last resort since they feel they cannot speak with their mothers or the police."

no words............brothers? Castration laws may need to happen.

There's just too much garbage to read through in this article.

Bottom line is this Japan, how about focusing on the REAL important issues among teens in schools. Not some dumb center test or entrance exam. Who cares? Why do you think so many people become disturbed adults?

2 ( +2 / -0 )

me and my wife is planning to adopt a baby. i hope this one will make it even few percent to be possible.

Wishing you the best of luck, am sure you will furnish him or her with a loving family.

And do ignore any "blood relations" sentiments posted.

5 ( +6 / -1 )

Unplanned pregnancies occurring among teens, young women during pandemic

If it occurred in young men, that'd be newsworthy

1 ( +1 / -0 )

Gee, here's a novel idea, how about actively promoting the pill or IUDs? Girls generally don't even consider it as an option, instead get multiple abortions before they are 30... absolutely ridiculous when the solution is there and relatively cheap.

3 ( +3 / -0 )

The number of shotgun weddings is going to hit the roof. Followed by the divorce rate.

2 ( +4 / -2 )

junior high school, that's from 12-15 years old, thats quite disturbing.

0 ( +1 / -1 )

And who said teens never get off their phones?

Sex education is a must; teenagers will have sex. Our society may seek to stop them but Mother Nature thinks otherwise and she always wins!

As to the predatory assaults increasing in lockdown, that highlights an underlying societal problem which both government and society at large needs to first recognise and then address to change attitudes and ensure adequate punishment for the perpetrators.

0 ( +0 / -0 )

dopamine

-1 ( +0 / -1 )

Ok who here is responsible

2 ( +2 / -0 )

Is there really no sex education here?

Anyway, it would be very costly for students to buy condoms everyday.

1 ( +1 / -0 )

How about the boys man up & use a condom !?

Or the girls telling them - ‘if it ain’t on, it ain’t on’

0 ( +0 / -0 )

Hmm....if only there were something a man or a woman could do to prevent pregnancies

Sure thing, yoga and meditation is the answer..that will evolve you to a life beyond promiscuity..

-1 ( +0 / -1 )

Zichi: abortion in Japan is available to women in limited circumstances

If you scroll down that Wiki article further, it states: “official Japanese government statistics on abortion, cannot be considered as very accurate, since physicians tend to under-report the number of abortions they perform as a way of avoiding income tax payments and because of social pressures to protect women's confidentiality, especially that of girls who are junior high or high school students.”

On the one hand, there’s the tatemae charade, in which Chapter XXIX of the Penal Code of Japan makes abortion de jure illegal in the country. The reality, however, is that exceptions to the law are broad and abortion is widely accepted and practiced. According to one survey, 79 percent of unmarried and 85 percent of married women approved of abortion.

1 ( +1 / -0 )

According to one survey, 79 percent of unmarried and 85 percent of married women approved of abortion.

It is sad that so many people don’t believe all lives matter. Any notion that Japan can halt the precipitous decline in population through government programs of one type or other is not living in the real world.

2 ( +3 / -1 )

Do the hustleDec. 24  08:16 am JST

Sex Ed in schools needs to stop focusing on the fundamentals and educate teens on how their lives will change after a birth.

Yes. Many schools, esp. parachial and private ones do not emphasize any of this. They usually push the 'abstinance only' principal which does not work. If a person 'stumbles' or is assaulted, s/he needs something to catch their fall.

Two friends of mine in college in a Catholic student group 'accidentally' became parents and their college careers were 'on hold' (they both had a year until they were to get their degrees), the father had trouble finding much work (the economy sucked in the early 90s), they jumped the gun. With parenthood comes a big responsibility and they made a big mistake, or at least acted too early. They weren't educated about that, and they weren't ready - everything in their lives were altered considerably. I never saw them again.

1 ( +2 / -1 )

"I had sex with my boyfriend every day during school closures.  Nice! :-)

I am late. I am worried I am knocked up. I feel sickness in the mornings.

He did not use a condom.

Free condoms. Free condoms everywhere.

0 ( +0 / -0 )

Login to leave a comment

Facebook users

Use your Facebook account to login or register with JapanToday. By doing so, you will also receive an email inviting you to receive our news alerts.

Facebook Connect

Login with your JapanToday account

User registration

Articles, Offers & Useful Resources

A mix of what's trending on our other sites