Keido Harada, director of the Isezaki Clinic, was quoted by officials as saying that he instructed clinic staff to dismember fetuses aborted at 12 weeks or more to make them easier to throw away as it was costly to hire medical waste professionals to dispose of them.

The law requires fetuses aborted at 12 weeks or more to be cremated or buried.

Harada, who had denied the accusations during initial questioning by authorities since July 14, admitted to them after the officials found that the clinic's records of about 20 abortions per month greatly exceeded the numbers he claimed in his explanations.

The Yokohama city government is considering filing a criminal complaint with the prefectural police against Harada. It is investigating when the illegal disposal began and the number of fetuses involved.

The Japan Times Weekly: July 31, 2004
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