During the period from 1929 to 1932, Japan experienced an overpopulation problem. In addition, the country's economic system was seriously damaged during World War II. The Japanese government consequently adopted a policy of decreasing population and initiated various democratization reforms. The Eugenic Protection Law of 1948 substantially decriminalized abortion. The law contained two elements, one for the protection of motherhood and another for eugenic selection. The former appealed to reformists and the latter to conservatives. In addition to providing for both voluntary and compulsory sterilization, the Eugenic Protection Law prescribed legal abortion under certain conditions. A Eugenic Protection Committee had the authority to examine specific cases. The number of abortions increased from 217 known to the police in 1946 before abortion was decriminalized to a high of 1,170,143 legal abortions in 1955. Between 1960 and 1988, the number of legal abortions decreased from 1,063,256 to 486,146 a year. Interest groups favoring the legalization of abortion included medical doctors and females. Interest groups against legal abortion included the church and employers who were experiencing a shortage of labor. 25 references, 36 notes, and 2 tables