Naoki Hyakuta, the leader of the Conservative Party of Japan and a prominent novelist, has faced intense national and international backlash after suggesting a series of extreme and misogynistic measures to combat Japan’s declining birth rate. His proposals included forcibly removing the uteruses of women over 30 and banning women from marrying after the age of 25.
The controversy erupted following a November 8, 2024, YouTube live broadcast on his channel. During the stream, Hyakuta was discussing the country’s demographic crisis with Kaori Arimoto, the secretary-general of his party. When asked for his opinion on how to restore traditional values regarding childbirth, Hyakuta stated that society would have to drastically change its structure to impose a strict “time limit” on women having children.
Framing his ideas as a “novelist’s science fiction,” Hyakuta proposed three radical policies:
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Banning women from attending university after the age of 18.
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Legally preventing single women from marrying once they turn 25.
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Surgically removing the wombs of women once they reach the age of 30.
Hyakuta argued that if women were made overly anxious about a strict biological and legal time limit for childbirth, they would be forced to have children earlier.
Public Backlash and Condemnation
The remarks immediately ignited outrage across Japan, drawing fierce condemnation from women’s rights advocates, academics, and the public. Critics accused Hyakuta of reducing women to mere reproductive tools and promoting authoritarian policies over genuine societal support.
Japanese science fiction author Issui Ogawa publicly condemned Hyakuta’s attempt to dismiss the gruesome remarks as a creative exercise. “I’m a science fiction writer, and I’m not amused that the grotesque idea of removing a woman’s uterus was described as science fiction,” Ogawa wrote on X (formerly Twitter).
Sumie Kawakami, a gender studies lecturer, pointed out to This Week in Asia that Hyakuta’s rhetoric was a calculated political strategy rather than a simple slip of the tongue. “He has said something and now there has been a strong reaction. He has withdrawn it and apologized, but if there had not been a response, then he would not have felt the need to claim he was only speaking hypothetically and to apologize,” she explained.
Retraction and Apology
Following the massive wave of criticism, Hyakuta issued an apology on X, attempting to walk back his statements. “It is an example of a science fiction novel. It cannot happen in reality, but it is undeniable that the expression was rough. I apologize to those who were offended,” he wrote. He also reiterated during a speech in Nagoya that he did not personally support the ideas, confessing that his comments were “extremely harsh” and stating his desire to officially retract them.
Japan’s Demographic Crisis
Japan has been grappling with a severe demographic crisis for years. With the population projected to plummet from 125 million to around 87 million by 2070, the government has been scrambling to find solutions to an aging population and a shrinking workforce. Official statistics from early 2024 showed an ongoing decrease in birth rates.
While Hyakuta’s Conservative Party of Japan is relatively new—formed in 2023 in protest against Japan’s LGBT Understanding Promotion Act—it is not entirely a fringe group. The party recently secured three seats in the House of Representatives during the October 2024 general elections, gaining official recognition as a national political party. However, Hyakuta’s recent remarks have highlighted the extreme and polarizing rhetoric emerging from the country’s far-right factions in response to modern social challenges.
