Japan’s health minister called women “birth-giving” machines, during a speech this weekend, according to The Japan Times.

Addressing prefectural assembly members of the Liberal Democratic Party in Matsue, the 71-year-old Yanagisawa touched on the nation’s declining birthrate and said, “The number of women aged between 15 and 50 is fixed. Because the number of birth-giving machines and devices is fixed, all we can ask for is for them to do their best per head, although it may not be so appropriate to call them machines.”

No kidding it’s inappropriate, mate. As Lisa Katayama at TOKYOMANGO said, “I think Japan needs a new health minister”.

Picture by jenlight, shared under a Creative Commons license

Posted by Jess McCabe on 28 January 2007, at 8:22 PM