Regarding the Jan. 14 article "The birds, bees and the Japanese" (Mark Schreiber's commentary on a survey published in the Jan. 21 edition of Yomiuri Weekly): I got the impression that many Japanese people feel that there are only two solutions to an unwanted pregnancy -- abortion or raising a child. Not once in the article did anyone mention a third solution, adoption.
In much of the world, adoption is considered a more humane alternative to abortion and as a "source" of children for those who otherwise could not give birth (gay couples, uterus-cancer survivors, etc.) Is adoption common in Japan, or was my impression right? Is it considered an acceptable alternative to abortion?
john del