The unfavorable social climate for Japanese who want to have babies has recently been highlighted by two incidents. One is the gaffe by health minister Hakuo Yanagisawa, who called women "birth-giving machines." The other is the prosecutors' decision not to indict the head of a Yokohama maternity clinic and 10 nurses there despite suspicion that intrauterine examinations on pregnant women were conducted by nurses. Only doctors and maternity nurses are allowed to do such examinations.

Mr. Yanagisawa said, "Because the number of birth-giving machines and devices is fixed, all we can ask for is for them to do their best per head." His statement not only smacks of contempt for women but also shows that he does not acknowledge the social factors surrounding the nation's falling birth rate: for example, long working hours of husbands, an increase in the number of irregular workers with less job security, and a paucity of evening nurseries. These are long-term issues that need to be addressed.

The prosecutors' handling of the Yokohama clinic case exposes another issue. Their leniency reflects a consideration of the fact that many maternity clinics, suffering from a shortage of maternity nurses, have no alternative but to let ordinary nurses conduct intrauterine examinations. In 2002 and 2004, the health ministry's legalistic notices prohibited ordinary nurses from conducting intrauterine examinations. If the notices are strictly enforced, many maternity clinics would have to shut down.