The Tokyo government has been overwhelmed by interest in its new fertility subsidy program, one of several pilot programs across the nation designed to address one of the lowest birthrates in the world.
More than 7,000 women have registered for information sessions about the new program, which offers up to ￥300,000 (US$2,028) toward the costs of egg-freezing, and 1,800 women have applied since October last year, the Tokyo Metropolitan Government said.
The government estimated demand would be far lower. It budgeted ￥60 million for subsidies, enough to award the maximum amount to 200 women.
The program is open to all women aged 18 to 39, a departure from earlier fertility policies that excluded unmarried women. There is no deadline for the application and no pre-established limit to the number of subsidies that would be awarded. Tokyo Mayor Yuriko Koike told NHK the city plans to increase the budget significantly.
The Japanese government is increasingly concerned by its record-low birthrate, now at 1.3. A rate of 2.1 is considered optimal to keep a population stable. In 2022, the government agreed to reimburse 70 percent of the costs of in-vitro fertilization.
Egg freezing is one of several assisted reproductive technologies that can help extend a woman’s fertility, but it is expensive. In Japan, costs typically run from about ￥300,000 to ￥600,000, but can reach into the millions.
The technology is also far from a panacea. Only about 8.4 percent of people used their frozen eggs to give birth, a survey of 87 clinics and hospitals conducted by the Tokyo government in August showed.
The success rate of pregnancy using frozen eggs also drops with maternal age.
Still, keeping young eggs and increasing the odds of pregnancy is a vital option for women who are not ready to have children, said Noriko Taniyama, who works in the city government’s Bureau of Social Welfare, Children and Child-Rearing Support Division.
Tokyo plans to assess the effects of egg freezing on birthrate by accumulating data from subsidy recipients.
Drug lord Jose Adolfo Macias Villamar, alias “Fito,” was Ecuador’s most-wanted fugitive before his arrest on Wednesday, more than a year after he escaped prison from where he commanded the country’s leading criminal gang. The former taxi driver turned crime boss became the prime target of law enforcement early last year after escaping from a prison in the southwestern port of Guayaquil. Ecuadoran President Daniel Noboa’s government released “wanted” posters with images of his face and offered US$1 million for information leading to his capture. In a country plagued by crime, members of Fito’s gang, Los Choneros, have responded with violence, using car
Two former Chilean ministers are among four candidates competing this weekend for the presidential nomination of the left ahead of November elections dominated by rising levels of violent crime. More than 15 million voters are eligible to choose today between former minister of labor Jeannette Jara, former minister of the interior Carolina Toha and two members of parliament, Gonzalo Winter and Jaime Mulet, to represent the left against a resurgent right. The primary is open to members of the parties within Chilean President Gabriel Boric’s ruling left-wing coalition and other voters who are not affiliated with specific parties. A recent poll by the
TENSIONS HIGH: For more than half a year, students have organized protests around the country, while the Serbian presaident said they are part of a foreign plot About 140,000 protesters rallied in Belgrade, the largest turnout over the past few months, as student-led demonstrations mount pressure on the populist government to call early elections. The rally was one of the largest in more than half a year student-led actions, which began in November last year after the roof of a train station collapsed in the northern city of Novi Sad, killing 16 people — a tragedy widely blamed on entrenched corruption. On Saturday, a sea of protesters filled Belgrade’s largest square and poured into several surrounding streets. The independent protest monitor Archive of Public Gatherings estimated the
Irish-language rap group Kneecap on Saturday gave an impassioned performance for tens of thousands of fans at the Glastonbury Festival despite criticism by British politicians and a terror charge for one of the trio. Liam Og O hAnnaidh, who performs under the stage name Mo Chara, has been charged under the UK’s Terrorism Act with supporting a proscribed organization for allegedly waving a Hezbollah flag at a concert in London in November last year. The rapper, who was charged under the anglicized version of his name, Liam O’Hanna, is on unconditional bail before a further court hearing in August. “Glastonbury,
RSS