In a heart-wrenching reflection of Japan’s escalating social issues, a Tokyo hospital has become the second in the country to install a “baby hatch”, allowing mothers to anonymously leave infants they can no longer care for. Launched at San-ikukai Hospital in Tokyo’s Kinshicho district on Monday, the new hatch comes amid rising economic pressures and a persistent lack of support systems for new mothers in Japan. The “Baby Basket”, as it is called, provides a secure space designed for infants. An alarm sounds as soon as a baby is placed inside, with a staff member coming to collect the child within 30 seconds. “Such tragic incidents as newborns being deserted, and fatal child abuse continues to happen,” said hospital chief Hitoshi Kano when announcing the initiative. “I am going to make an effort to create a society in which this project is no longer necessary.” Rising prices are at least partly to blame for babies being abandoned, according to Yoko Tsukamoto, a professor of infection control at the Health Sciences University of Hokkaido. “There are a whole series of reasons why a second baby hatch is having to open in Japan, and I have to say it makes me sad,” she told This Week in Asia. “For many people, the biggest immediate problem is the rising price of everything, starting with food.” Rice prices in Japan have more than doubled in the past year – and the burden on families is set to grow even heavier, with major food and drink manufacturers preparing to raise prices on over 4,000 products this month due to increased logistics, fuel and wage costs. “On top of that, many young women do not have older women around them to offer advice and support,” Tsukamoto said. “When they look into the future, they think about all the costs associated with raising a child, and they are frightened.” The consequences for Japan’s declining birth rate could be dire. “We all know that Japan has a falling birth rate and an ageing population,” Tsukamoto added. “Japan needs more people to have babies and the implications for our society are serious if we don’t.” Echoing these sentiments, Sumie Kawakami, a lecturer at Yamanashi Gakuin University and author of a book on gender issues, lamented the financial constraints faced by potential parents. “I feel truly sorry for young people today because I’m sure that many young couples would like to have a family, but it’s just not economically possible for so many,” she said. Kawakami also pointed to the tragic circumstances that lead some women to carry pregnancies to term despite overwhelming challenges. “Some of these women have been the victim of rape, or they have an abusive partner and nowhere and no one to turn to, so they simply do not know what to do,” she said. ‘A better life’ The baby hatch concept originated in Germany, where around 100 hospitals now offer such facilities. Japan’s first baby hatch opened at Jikei Hospital, Kumamoto city, in 2007, coinciding with the onset of the global financial crisis. Since then, about 170 babies have been placed there, with hospital staff working with orphanages and adoption agencies to ensure their welfare. At Tokyo’s San-ikukai Hospital, pregnant women can give birth without revealing their names. The hospital also offers anonymous pregnancy counselling, allowing women to seek help without fear of judgment. While the existence of baby hatches is undeniably tragic, Tsukamoto said they offered a life-saving alternative for children who might otherwise be abandoned to their fate. In October last year, a 20-year-old woman was arrested after her mother had discovered the body of a baby abandoned in a plastic bag at their home in Chiba prefecture. Just three months earlier, a 28-year-old was taken into custody on suspicion of discarding her baby boy’s body in a toilet at a golf course in Kobe. “There are so many reports of child abuse and neglect nowadays that it is far better that baby hatches are available as an alternative for these children,” Tsukamoto said. “They will be cared for and they will have a better life.”