On Aug. 16, the Health and Welfare Ministry announced that it had finally approved the low-dosage birth control pill, which will likely become available through prescription in the fall. Oral contraceptives for women have been available in the West for close to 40 years, but in Japan they've always been viewed with a distrustful eye by the authorities.
The reasons for keeping the Pill out were never satisfactorily explained by the government, but the two that became uppermost in people's minds were 1) the possible dangers of known and unknown side effects, and 2) the fear that all women would somehow become sex fiends. A third, much less discussed reason was pressure from obstetricians who drew a good part of their income from legal abortions.
It's important to keep in mind that the Pill's belated approval has, in effect, rendered such approval less meaningful than it seems. Coverage in the general news media has been almost nonexistent since it was first revealed a month ago that the Ministry of Health and Welfare was about to reverse its stance. On the day after the announcement was made, Asahi Shimbun was the only vernacular daily to cover it. (In contrast, a friend of mine in Europe said it was reported on CNN.)