womb of the state:
east aisan women under pronatalist pressure
Bonnie, Julie, and Ray
https://www.irasutoya.com/
Japan’s low birthrate is often framed as a national emergency. With fewer young people and a growing elderly population, the government worries about the future labor force, social security, and local communities. In 2023, Prime Minister Kishida called the years before the 2030s Japan’s “last chance” to reverse the birthrate trend.
Japan
Child Allowance Expansion:
Japan increased child allowance to ease the cost of raising children.
Families now receive:
¥15,000/mon for children under 3
¥10,000/mon for children age 3 through high school
¥30,000/mon for the third child and beyond
The policy also removes income limits, so more families can qualify.
pictures：https://www.irasutoya.com/
🇨🇳China
After 1949, the state encouraged childbirth for labor supply, economic growth, and national construction, while abortion and sterilization were strictly restricted.
As population growth created pressure on resources, the government introduced family planning and the One-Child Policy. Women were often forced to undergo contraception, abortions, and sterilization.
In recent years, declining birth rates, population aging, and labor shortages have led the state to shift again to the Two-Child and Three-Child Policies.
1949
Encouraging Childbirth
⬇️
1970s
“later marriage, late childbirth, fewer children”
⬇️
1979-2015
One-Child Policy
⬇️
2016-2021
Two-Child Policy
⬇️
2021-present
Three-Child Policy
pictures below: https://www.sohu.com/a/660622495_121333743
Having three children is best—no need to rely on the state for elder care.
Having only one child is too few; having two is better—children have companionship when they’re young, and in old age they can rely on each other.
Family planning is a fundamental national policy. Having just one child is best.
https://www.irasutoya.com/
🇰🇷Korea
Contraception (2005)
Oral contraceptive pills were removed from national health insurance.
Abortion (2019– )
2019: Constitutional Court ruled the abortion ban unconstitutional
After that:
-
Not included in national health insurance
-
Reported cost: approximately ₩300,000–₩1,000,000 (about $200–$700)
-
No standardized nationwide provision system
Workplace
-
Average annual working hours: 1,901 hours (2022, OECD)
-
Female employment rate drops sharply after childbirth
-
Gender wage gap: 31.2% (OECD, highest among OECD countries)
Government Policies
Total government spending on low fertility policies:
over ₩280 trillion (approx. $200+ billion) by 2021
Cash Support (since 2010s)
-
Child allowance: ₩100,000 per month per child (under age 8)
-
“First meeting allowance” (birth grant): ₩2 million per newborn
https://www.irasutoya.com/
References:
Cai, Y., & Liu, B. (2024). From birth control to pronatalism: Population policy and women’s reproductive rights in China since the 1980s. Jindal Global Law Review, 15(2), 267–289. https://doi.org/10.1007/s41020-024-00248-w
Davis, A. Y. (1981). Women, race & class. Random House.
Grabowska, M. (2012). Bringing the Second World in: Conservative revolution(s), socialist legacies, and transnational silences in the trajectories of Polish feminism. Signs: Journal of Women in Culture and Society, 37(2), 385–411.
Hernández, L. H. (2019). Feminist approaches to border studies and gender violence: Family separation as reproductive injustice. Women’s Studies in Communication, 42(2), 130–134. https://doi.org/10.1080/07491409.2019.1605213
Kim, S. (2023). From Population Control to Reproductive Rights: Feminist Perspectives on Low Fertility Rates in South Korea | Heinrich Böll Stiftung Seoul | East Asia. Heinrich Böll Stiftung Seoul | East Asia. https://kr.boell.org/en/2023/05/24/population-control-reproductive-rights-feminist-perspectives-low-fertility-rates-south
Population Pyramids of the World from 1950 to 2100. (2026). PopulationPyramid.net. https://www.populationpyramid.net/japan/2026/
Press Conference by Prime Minister Kishida | Prime Minister’s Office of Japan. (2023). Prime Minister’s Office of Japan. https://japan.kantei.go.jp/101_kishida/statement/202303/_00015.html?utm_source=chatgpt.com
Shen, Y., & Jiang, L. (2021). Power Relations in Reproductive Decisions Under the Transforming Family Planning Policy in China. Journal of Family Issues, 43(11), 0192513X2110355. https://doi.org/10.1177/0192513x211035584
Wang, C. (2012). History of the Chinese Family Planning program: 1970–2010. Contraception, 85(6), 563–569. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.contraception.2011.10.013
Statistics Korea (KOSTAT).
Birth Statistics 2023.
https://kostat.go.kr/portal/eng/index.action
OECD.
Hours Worked; Gender Wage Gap (Korea).
https://data.oecd.org/earnwage/gender-wage-gap.htm
Korean Constitutional Court.
Decision on Abortion Law (2019).
https://www.ccourt.go.kr/site/eng/main.do
Ministry of Health and Welfare (Korea).
Basic Plan for Low Fertility and Aging Society.
https://www.mohw.go.kr/eng/