Japan
- 24th Block Roundtable Meeting, 1/30/2022
a project started in 1998, in which the director of the head office visits chapters across the country to exchange information. Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the meeting was not held in 2020. This was the first time to hold the meeting online, and we were able to interact with members of the Tottori Branch and female doctors in Tottori Prefecture. - Women’s Health Support Project Lecture, 2/5/2022
This project started in 2001, and lectures are held on themes related to women’s sexuality and health. This time, Dr. Tomoko Adachi, an obstetrician/gynecologist, gave a lecture on the theme of “Considering Unexpected Pregnancy in the Corona Disaster – including emergency pills and others.
In Japan, the following problems are piling up: Safe abortion as recommended by WHO is not common. Drug abortion is not approved, and although manual vacuum aspiration is approved, curettage, which is considered dangerous, is still commonly chosen. Married women need their husbands’ consent for abortion, even for unwanted pregnancies, which is a stumbling block to gender equality. Access to emergency contraceptives is also not guaranteed, even though safe abortion is not guaranteed. The after-pill requires a doctor’s prescription, is difficult to obtain quickly, and is extremely expensive. The meeting provided an opportunity to consider the challenges to resolving these issues. - “Statement Against Russia’s Invasion of Ukraine”
Japan Medical Women’s Association posts “Statement Against Russia’s Invasion of Ukraine” on its website (http://www.jmwa.or.jp), Twitter, and Facebook. Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, which began on February 24, has taken many innocent lives, and the damage is growing day by day. For the sake of the women and children who are always victims of such violent acts that violate the sovereignty of other countries by force, neglect human rights, and take human lives, we, women medical professionals, hereby express our strong opposition. - CSW66 side event, 2022/3/15
National Women’s Committee of the UN NGOs, of which the Japan Medical Women’s Association is a member, held a side event at CSW66, co-sponsored by the Japanese Ministry of Foreign Affairs. The theme was “Our Ethical Consciousness and Actions Change the World” and 189 people participated online (Fig. 1). - Earthquake in Fukushima
At 23:36 (JST) on 3/16/2022, a magnitude 7.3 earthquake struck off the coast of Fukushima Prefecture, killing three people and injuring 226. In Fukushima Prefecture, a crack in the pier of a Shinkansen bullet train caused the train to derail (Fig. 2).
Fig. 1: CSW66 Side Event “Our Ethical Consciousness and Actions Change the World”
Fig. 2: Inside a house in Fukushima Prefecture immediately after the earthquake.