Tokyo suburb offering US$1m public funds to freeze women’s eggs to boost birth rate
Urayasu women residents, aged between 25 and 34, are eligible for pilot programme
A Tokyo suburb will help women cover the cost of freezing their eggs in a pilot programme aimed at tackling the nation’s declining birth rate.
The Japanese city of Urayasu, about 14km east of Tokyo, is allocating 90 million yen (US$850,000) over three years to fund the research project conducted by Juntendo University Urayasu Hospital.
The hospital hopes that preserving the eggs would encourage women to give birth when they are ready instead of giving up having children.
Dr Iwaho Kikuchi of the hospital said on Thursday that using public funds to support this kind of study may be a first in the world.
The average cost of such procedure is around 500,000 to 600,000 yen, but a woman will only pay 20 per cent of the cost with the subsidy. Women between the age of 25 and 34 who live in Urayasu, also home to Tokyo Disneyland, are eligible to participate.