Cardinal Isao Kikuchi, Cardinal-Archbishop of Tokyo, has voiced strong opposition to the decision by Aska Pharmaceutical to allow its emergency contraceptive pill to be sold over the counter in Japan.
The company’s announcement, made on 20 October 2025, marks a landmark policy change. For the first time, Japan will allow the purchase of the “morning-after” pill without obtaining a prescription, though the intake must still be overseen by a trained pharmacist.
Cardinal Kikuchi told UCA News he “cannot approve measures that may take human life without adequate moral education”.
He added that while he understands this move as contributing to the respect and promotion of a “woman’s right to self-determination”, it remains essential to recognise that “life is a gift from God”.
His remarks emphasise the Church’s concern that, even in the context of reproductive health, moral formation should precede regulatory change.
The pill in question is intended to prevent unwanted pregnancy if taken within 72 hours of intercourse. Its manufacturer stressed that making it available without prescription would help align Japan with practices in many Western countries and expand access for women.
While the company has not yet specified a sale date, it emphasised that women of any age may purchase the product under the new regime.
Initial discussions on over-the-counter access date back to 2017, and a public consultation elicited strong support, citing women’s rights, barriers to clinic access, and Japan’s lag behind other nations in regulatory attitude.
Medical associations such as the Japan Society of Obstetrics and Gynaecology and the Japan Association of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists have expressed reservations, pointing to insufficient sex-education frameworks and inadequate pharmacist training.
A pilot programme in 2023 tested switch-to-OTC models, paving the way for full regulatory approval by Japan’s Pharmaceutical Affairs Council in May 2025.
From the perspective of Catholic teaching, the issue touches on foundational questions of the dignity of human life. The Catholic Bishops’ Conference of Japan had opposed Norlevo’s earlier approval for pharmaceutical manufacturing and marketing. Emergency contraceptives are intended to bring about deliberate abortion, the bishops said in a December 2010 statement. Artificial abortion contradicts the moral duty to respect human life. Since emergency contraceptives may prevent the implantation of a fertilised ovum, they are, in effect, abortifacient.
As policy implementation proceeds, attention will now turn to how educational and support frameworks are deployed, and whether the Church’s concerns about moral formation are heeded alongside the liberalisation of pharmaceutical access.
(Photo by Tiziana FABI / AFP) (Photo by TIZIANA FABI/AFP via Getty Images)
AloJapan.com