3. Women and health

(1) Supporting the health of women throughout life

1）

Enhancing women's health education and counseling support
The Ministry of Education provides prefectural boards of education with information, guidance and support in order to promote the guidance in respect for human rights, equality between men and women, and mutual cooperation and understanding, to give due consideration to textbooks and educational materials used at school, and to enhance training of teaching staff through school education.

Based on the revised Course of Study of March l989, in elementary school both girls and boys are now required to study Home Economics under an identical curriculum. The new curriculum has been applied to secondary schools since FY l993, and in High Schools since FY l994. Through various training programs for improving the education program and through the presentation of research results, the new curriculum is being smoothly implemented today in secondary and high schools.

2）

Supporting the health of pregnant women and childbirth

a)

Providing maternal and child health services from pregnancy to childbirth
As a result of the revision of the Maternal and Child Health Law, since April l997 municipalities began to offer basic health services from the time when a notice of pregnancy is filed until the time when the child reaches the school age.

b)

Enhancing perinatal medical care
In FY l996, the Government began promoting establishment of a perinatal medical system for pregnant women and newborn infants in every prefecture.

3）

Promoting measures to prevent osteoporosis
Checkups for osteoporosis are conducted for the women at the age of forty and of fifty, as part of health examinations covered by the Health and Medical Service Law for the Aged.

4）

Amendment to the Eugenic Protection Law
In view of discriminatory expressions against persons with disabilities in some sections of the Law based on the eugenic idea of preventing dysgenic posterity births, stipulations based on the eugenic idea were deleted from the provisions on abortion etc., and the Law was converted into the Maternal Protection Law, enforced on September, l996.