ID
NameTitle

Supervisor

190029Hiyori ISOGAI
Necessity and Challenges of Converting Emergency
Contraceptives to OTC in Japan:
Comparative research between Japan and the UK conducted froma SRHR perspective

Comparison with the U.K. in terms of SRHR
Prof. Chihiro KATO
Summary

In Japan today, it is required to visit a hospital and gain a prescription to obtain
Emergency Contraceptive Pills (ECPs). The subject of this paper is the Over-the-Counter(OTC) conversion of ECPs, and this thesis aims to clarify the necessity and challenges tomake ECPs OTC in Japan from the perspective of sexual and reproductive health andrights (SRHR). The method is a comparative analysis of policies and laws implemented
by the Japanese and British authorities. I also conducted a survey and received 81
responses from various nationalities including 37 Japanese and 15 British.
First, based on my survey results and the way ECPs are marketed in Japan, I argued
that time, psychological, and financial constraints on access to ECPs should be eliminated.
Secondly, I argued that there is a difference in interpretation of the SRHR, with Japanneglecting it and the UK respecting it as a human right, which creates a difference
between the two countries regarding the OTC availability of ECPs.
Furthermore, I advocated that the root cause of Japan’s tendency to downplay
SRHR is the persistence of a fetus-centered mindset due to criminal abortion and theMaternal Health Act. Finally, referring to the process by which the UK decriminalized
abortion in Northern Ireland, I claimed that it is essential to incorporate people's voices
to create an ideal policy from the perspective of SRHR.
I concluded that the necessity to make ECPs OTC is the fact that the open accessto ECPs is a human right, and the challenges to achieve this is to improve women’s rights.
Also, to create ideal policies, it is essential to improve sex education, raise the awarenessof legislators, and increase the number of female legislators. The significance of this paper
is that it refers to the underlying causes of the lack of OTC availability of ECPs in Japan,
and it provides a comparative analysis of opinions on policy and education in bothcountries using an original questionnaire.
Keywords: ECPs, OTC, SRHR, women’s rights

ID
NameTitle
Supervisor

190291Sakura YAMAMOTO
The Problems and the Solutions Improving Sex Education inJapan:A Comparison with Sex Education in the U.K.
Prof. Chihiro KATO
Summary

From some experts, Japan’s sex education is far behind from the international
trends. The theme of this thesis is to suggest the solutions of Japan’s sex education toimprove it by referring to the U.K. whose sex education is advanced. Therefore, thepurpose of this thesis is to clarify the problems of Japan’s sex education and the behaviors
about sex.
First, I investigated the curriculum of Japan’s sex education to show the problems.
Second, I investigated the problems of Japanese sexual behaviors and systems bycomparing with the U.K.’s behaviors and systems. Lastly, I compared Japan’s sex
education to “International technical guidance on sexuality education: An evidenceinformed approach”(UNESCO, 2018) and the U.K’s to show the suggestions to improve
Japan’s sex education.
I confirmed that there are three factors why Japan’s sex education is far behindfrom other countries. First, it is believed by the general population that sex education is
disgusting and that opinion reflects Japan’s sex education. Therefore, direct words which
are needed to understand sexual concepts are not taught in Japan. Second, Japan’s sex
education is not appropriate for their ages. For example, it is encouraged to teachcontraception from 9 to 12 years old, however, Japan’s sex education does not provide
this information for children of this age. Lastly, Japan’s sex education does not teachabout sexual intercourse which is fundamental aspect to understand sexual andreproductive health and rights.
I concluded that it is necessary to solve these three problems to improve Japan’ssex education to solve the Japan’s sexual problems about students’ behaviors and socialsystems. First, I suggest that people should think that sex education is the way to acquire
the knowledges. Second, the curriculum of Japan’s sex education should be made basedon the international trends which effects are proven. Third, I suggest that Japan’s sex
education should provide the knowledge of sexual and reproductive health and rights
Keywords: sex education , Japan , the U.K.