"Over 30 Women Should Undergo Hysterectomy"…Backlash Against Japanese Conservative Party Leader's Controversial Low Birthrate Comment

Apology Issued via SNS Amid Growing Controversy
Previously Made Multiple Anti-Korean Remarks

Naoki Hyakuta, leader of the Japan Conservative Party, sparked controversy by making remarks such as "I will remove the uterus if you are over 30" as a measure against low birth rates.

On the 10th, local media including Yomiuri and Asahi Shimbun reported that Hyakuta made these remarks during an appearance on a YouTube channel broadcast on the 8th. He appeared on his own YouTube channel, 'News Morning 8!', where he discussed the low birthrate issue and related countermeasures.

Leader of Japan's Conservative Party, Hyakuta Naoki
[Image source: Hyakuta Naoki official website capture]

At the time, Hyakuta was engaged in a conversation with Kaori Arimoto, the party's secretary-general. Arimoto said, "Values are rapidly changing. Recently, people do not think that 'having children equals happiness,'" and added, "I would like to hear opinions on how to restore these societal values."

In response, Hyakuta asserted, "To overturn these (values), we inevitably have to change the social structure." Prefacing his remarks as a "science fiction (SF) by a novelist," he said things like, "Women will not be sent to university from age 18," "If a woman is single past 25, a law will be made that she can never marry," and "If over 30, the uterus will be removed." When Arimoto stopped him from continuing, Hyakuta explained, "I was simply trying to make it easy to understand that there is a time limit for childbirth."

As criticism of Hyakuta's remarks continued, he eventually apologized via social networking services (SNS). On the 9th, Hyakuta posted on X (formerly Twitter), stating, "It was a story given as an example based on the premise of an SF novel," and "It is something that could never happen in reality." He also said, "It is an undeniable fact that my expression was harsh," and apologized to those who were offended.

Founded in October last year, the Japan Conservative Party is an extreme right-wing nationalist party with the slogan "Make Japan wealthy and strong." Hyakuta, a former broadcast writer who has worked as a novelist and broadcaster, has caused controversy several times in the past with anti-Korean remarks on broadcasts. He maintains the stance that issues such as the comfort women problem in South Korea and the Nanjing Massacre in China "never happened," and claims that "Dokdo is Japanese territory." The Japan Conservative Party had three members elected in the recent House of Representatives election held on the 27th.