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And so, since we know the “why” of why abortion is socially acceptable and therefore reaching sky high numbers, I started searching for adoption statistics in Japan. Ah, and I found the problem.
This article, from a January issue of The Japan Times which requires free membership to read, shows us that adoption within the country of Japan isn’t exactly socially acceptable.
Without a doubt, there are many children without parents who need loving families, but adoption of unrelated children is rare in Japan, partly because of doubts that placing them in an unfamiliar home environment is better than raising them in a public welfare facility.
Temporary foster care, in which families agree to care for a child for a few weeks or even several years without becoming the legal parents, is not common either.
Child welfare specialists argue there must be a change in the mind-set of parents — a desire to act in the best interests of children — if adoption is to take root.
Now, I’m all for making sure that a mother is not coerced and therefore willingly wants to place her child for adoption. However, I was not truly aware, in my ethnocentric self, that other countries have a problem finding parents who want to adopt. Fascinatingly sad when you think of the children that are actively waiting in orphanages in Japan.
Adoption is less common in Japan than in some Western countries. In 2004, family courts recognized only 322 adoptions of children under 6, according to official statistics. There were also 998 children over age 6 adopted the same year.
Before you say, “Well, maybe there just aren’t many children,” the article goes on to talk about the current number of children who are simply “waiting.”
Currently, some 30,000 children under 18 are living in welfare facilities around the country. They may have suffered abuse; their parents may be too ill or financially unable to care for them; their parents may be in prison or may have simply given them up. Some children are placed in foster care temporarily and eventually reunited with their parents.
(Not necessarily a fan of the “or may have simply given them up” statement but, again, different country equals different attitudes.)
The article also states that the number is so high because “many are older and some have disabilities.” To further understand the mindset, the article explains a Japanese mindset regarding what constitutes a “family.”
Age or disability hardly matters to adoptive parents in the West, Omori said. “In the mind-set of many Japanese, there is still the sense that they want to adopt the child to carry on the family line.”
In prewar Japan, adoption, particularly among relatives, was a common way of maintaining the family name, business and fortune. This remains the case today.
Furthermore, in reference to the opinions of biological parents, this one is a doozy:
Japanese tend to think that biological parents should raise children and look down on those who can’t.
Now, if that doesn’t explain the “hole in the wall of the hospital” attitude, I don’t think anything will.
With all of the information now spliced together, it makes sense as to why Japan is pushing the idea of a completely confidential adoption via a variation of our Safe Haven law. I’m sure the thought process is that if you can get the country to get “behind” adoption of an infant, they’ll get behind the idea of adoption in general and start finding permanent homes for the older and disabled children in the orphanages. Though, looking at the older waiting children within our country, I don’t think that is the magic answer they are looking for by promoting adoption over abortion.
Furthermore, as Japan law states that the biological parents have to sign in order for an adoption to go through, except in the case of orphans, I wonder how that will effect this new law. Will the legally abandoned children thus be considered orphans? Beyond that, the complete anonymity of the “hole in the wall of the hospital” brings into question parents or partners who don’t want the mother to parent and use the cloak of anonymity to place a child without the approval of the biological mother.
While I understand the push to get Japanese to start caring for the children who need it, I don’t necessarily think this is the way to go. All that said, I am not a Japanese citizen or law-maker. I’m just looking in from the very-very far outside.
(By the way, if you’re wondering, the Japanese program to international adoptions is open but the numbers are low. In 2000, there were 40 United States adoptions of Japanese children.)
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For More on Birth Parents Around the World, read:
4. Japan: Abortion and Adoption – Part One.
3. Resilience: More On Korean Birth Mother Documentary (Plus More!)
2. Birthmothers Around the World: A Look at Korea
1. A History Lesson: How the Third Reich Affected Adoption
I don’t claim to be an expert on Japanese adoption, but have been looking at the process lately.
Within this week, I received an email from ISSJ stating that they have very few adoptable children because the have the second largest economy in the world and there is not such a great need. They also told me that most of the children adopted out will be above 5 years. If I wanted a “pure” Japanese or Caucasian/Japanese infant, the wait could be years. If I was willing to consider Japanese/other Asian or Japanese/African children it would shorten the wait considerably. Also interesting is that the cost of adoption is higher than for any other country, ranging up to $65 000.
The Japanese highly value blood ties and for that reason they do not often adopt and they do not give up parental rights to their children. Most often the children will grow up in an institution and be fetched back when they come of age to start working and taking care of the family. The only reason that they are trying to lower the number of abortions is because their population is experiencing a negative growth with only 1.26 children born per woman. If you want to read another article about all of this, you can read here: http://ipsnews.net/news.asp?idnews=32881
Veronika; I find it hard to say that there isn’t a need when there are 30,000 currently in orphanages that aren’t “desirable” because of age or disability.
That said, the article did mention that family ties are important to the Japanese people.
I wonder what the orphanages are like in Japan. I read an article a while back that said they were more like little families with mother figures for caregivers and they weren’t bleak institutions like those we find in Eastern Europe or other parts of Asia. If that is the case perhaps the children aren’t suffering like children in other less developed parts of the world.
Too bad that family ties are not more important to Americans. I’m of the opinion too that safe havens are not much of an answer – in Japan or America.
Oh Jenna, I didn’t mean that I think they’re being truthful! They said that there is not much of a need for adoption, mainly because not many of the kids are available for adoption. Most of the kids have not been relinquished by their parents and so does not qualify for adoption. I’m just sharing what they said. My personal opinion is that America and Britain have large economies too and yet there are still people living in poverty with many children in orphanages. Why shouldn’t the same hold true for Japan? Having a prosperous economy does not guarantee that every person in the country benefits from that prosperity.
Sorry for the delay; I’ve been out of town.
Veronika: I wonder what the orphanages are like in Japan. I read an article a while back that said they were more like little families with mother figures for caregivers and they weren’t bleak institutions like those we find in Eastern Europe or other parts of Asia. If that is the case perhaps the children aren’t suffering like children in other less developed parts of the world.
I heard this as well: they seem to see it as a poor man’s boarding school. Between that and the fact that their knowledge of foster care comes from profoundly negative U.S. news stories and t.v. shows, there’s some logic to their belief that orphanages are a “better” option than foster care.
yet there are still people living in poverty with many children in orphanages. Why shouldn’t the same hold true for Japan? Having a prosperous economy does not guarantee that every person in the country benefits from that prosperity.
Economic history isn’t my forte, but as I understand it, post-WWII leaders consciously designed their economic system to minimize this. Because companies didn’t want the government dictating New Deal-esque regulations, companies decided to self-regualte. It worked for a while, but it inflated the price of everything. (When I was first there, I wound up spending $8 on one apple.)
As I understand it, that’s starting to fall apart now — in much the same way that our health care system, which was set up for similar reasons, is.
Again, great information. Thanks for sharing!