S/ Kato Hitoshi, Director of San-ikukai Hospital: The number of women struggling with unexpected pregnancies and facing the challenges of giving birth alone has been increasing in the recent years, and heartbreaking incidents such as death from child abuse continue to occur.  

The San-ikukai Hospital, located near Kinshicho Station in Tokyo, announced on March 31 that it will start a baby hatch service, where parents and others can leave babies under four weeks old who cannot be brought up for various reasons without having to reveal their identity.  

A place will be set up within the hospital, and once a baby has been left there, hospital staff will arrive within a minute and, if possible, try to speak to the parents.  

In addition, if the parents do not want their pregnancy or birth to be known, they can have a so-called “confidential birth”, where they only reveal their identity to a limited number of hospital staff.  

The cost will be covered by the parents in principle.  

This system, run by a medical institution, is the second of its kind in Japan, following the Jikei Hospital in Kumamoto Prefecture.  

Professor Yamagata Fumiharu of Kansai University, who is familiar with such systems, says that if the hospital can meet with the parents directly, there is a possibility that they can obtain information that will be necessary if the baby wants to know about their origins in the future. On the other hand, he points out that the fact that the cost of a confidential birth is “principally borne by the individual” means that “there is a possibility that support will not reach those who really need it”.