Two different surveys have revealed that the surgical abortion method called dilatation and curettage (D&C) is the method of choice for many Japanese OB-GYN doctors for early-term abortions: less than 12 weeks into the pregnancy. The doctors who conducted the second research admit that D&C has a significantly higher rate of complications than the aspiration method. However, they conclude that “there are no major problems with the safety of abortion care in Japan.” This paper considers why the doctors have reached such a conclusion and whether this conclusion is valid.

  As a result of detailed examinations of the doctors’ report, we have found that the selection of the comparison data, the method of comparison, and the method of citation are inappropriate and unusual. They conclude based on their arbitrarily selected data, which could hardly be called rational. Although there are mistakes that could be mere carelessness or coincidence, we suspect that the authors are intentional because everything has been manipulated to make us believe that “abortion in Japan is safe.”

  Moreover, we have analyzed their request for cooperation in the questionnaire survey to find their strong intentions to prove the safety of abortion in Japan. Furthermore, the study concludes that the aspiration method is safer than D&C but contradictorily states that there is no major problem with the safety of abortion in Japan. Therefore their purpose of the study is to conclude that abortion in Japan is safe.

  Thus, it seems highly likely that the reporters have been influenced by the common interests of the medical association members. Their conclusions of the report are questionable, and there is little evidence to support the continued acceptance of the use of D&C.