I saw a news report about a new Japanese law governing the harvesting of living organs from brain-dead donors which had just gone into effect. You might be thinking that I’d accidentally picked up a newspaper from 25 years ago, but no — Japan is only just catching up to the rest of the world in this important area. Previously organs from individuals who had signed a donor card could be harvested for transplants, but there was a catch — only persons aged 15 or older were eligible to sign the donor cards, which was essentially a death sentences to anyone under that age who needed a new heart or liver but lacked the resources to travel outside of Japan to obtain one. One of the themes of Japan as a nation is that it is “behind” the U.S. and Europe in terms of its social structures, who are generally seen as as more “advanced” by the Japanese in general. It’s nice to see this aspect of Japanese society being updated.
Why am I not surprised that Japan’s donor cards are kawaii??
