"The story behind the Contraceptive Pill in Japan"
If you missed our June meeting, you missed a great opportunity to learn about the history and current situation regarding oral contraceptives in Japan from our knowledgeable speaker, Dr. Kurt Rimkus of Nippon Organon.
As a non-Japanese, it was almost unbelievable to learn that it took 40 years until the Pill was finally approved for contraceptive use in Japan in 1999. (It was introduced and approved for other indications in 1959!) This long and winding road was due to a number of factors, but mostly male politicians who saw the Pill as a threat to the health of the family unit, including issues of HIV and STDs. Even as late as 1997, the Minister for Health and Welfare at that time, currently Prime Minister, Junichiro Koizumi, was quoted as saying we should “not use medicines that ‘suppress’ nature.” With this obvious lack of government support and only a handful of doctors who actively encourage its use, it is no wonder that even today, seven years after the Pill was launched, only 1.9% of Japanese women of reproductive age take the Pill as a method of birth control.
Not discouraged by these statistics, last year Nippon Organon launched their product Marvelon, the only 3rd generation Pill currently sold in the Japanese market, and has gained an 8% market share. There is plenty of room for progress, much of it with young women themselves, who after being told for 40 years that using the Pill isn’t a healthy option, naturally have anxiety and misunderstandings in spite of the plethora of research to the contrary. The Pill’s future also hinges on OB/GYNs, who need to switch their mentality from abortion to contraception and introduce it to women in a positive environment.
Maybe the quickest results would come from creating a TV drama in which the main character takes the Pill—perhaps a jump in a country where you could not even mention the Pill on the air until recent years – but the power of the media could really make a difference! It will be interesting to see how the situation progresses in the next 10 years. Until then, Dr. Rimkus’ presentation was a startling view of just how far there is to go.
