Assisted Reproductive Technology in Japan: A Summary Report for 2023 by the Committee on Professional Scientific Conduct and Clinical Ethics of the Japan Society of Obstetrics and Gynecology

Yukiko Katagiri; Seung Chik Jwa; Akira Kuwahara; Takeshi Iwasa; Masanori Ono; Keiichi Kato; Hiroshi Kishi; Yoshimitsu Kuwabara; Fuminori Taniguchi; Miyuki Harada; Akira Iwase; Norihiro Sugino

doi:10.1002/rmb2.70008

Assisted Reproduction Registries and Reporting

Assisted Reproductive Technology in Japan: A Summary Report for 2023 by the Committee on Professional Scientific Conduct and Clinical Ethics of the Japan Society of Obstetrics and Gynecology

Katagiri Y, Jwa SC, Kuwahara A, Iwasa T, Ono M, Kato K, Kishi H, Kuwabara Y, Taniguchi F, Harada M, Iwase A, Sugino N

Reproductive Medicine and Biology, 25(1), e70008, 2026

DOI 10.1002/rmb2.70008 PMID 41450563 PMC PMC12728317

RRM Academy Synopsis

Japan's 2023 ART registry recorded 85 048 newborns in 561 664 cycles

Japan's ART registry recorded 561 664 treatment cycles and 85 048 newborns in 2023, the highest totals in its history. A national obstetrics and gynecology society compiled the descriptive report from 625 of 638 registered facilities. It addresses fresh and frozen embryo transfer cycles.

Key Findings

Facilities taking part numbered 625 of 638. Registered cycles reached 561 664 and neonates 85 048, up 3.3% and 10.2% on 2022.
Fresh cycles with oocyte retrieval numbered 281 665, and 168 343 (59.8%) were freeze-all. Single embryo transfer made up 80.5% of fresh transfers and 84.7% of frozen transfers.
Frozen-thawed embryo transfer covered 276 153 registered cycles, 109 850 pregnancies and 80 774 neonates. Live births per FET reached 28.8%, against 27.0% in 2022.
Women aged 40 years or over had 205 986 cycles (36.7%). Live births per registered cycle peaked at 23.8% at age 29 and fell below 10.0% for women ≧ 41.
Counted by gestational sac, multiple pregnancies totaled 4353, the highest number in the registry's history.

Interpretation

The report is a descriptive national registry summary of 2023 cycles, with a data cutoff of 30 November 2024. The authors ran no statistical testing. Each record describes one cycle, so the authors note that women with multiple deliveries during the study period cannot be identified. Background information such as past surgery, social and economic background, and lifestyle was collected without standardization and may be incomplete. Rates are per cycle or per transfer, and the report breaks them down by age, fertilization method, and transfer type.

RRM Context

Registry totals document procedure volume and newborns per cycle. Restorative reproductive medicine evaluates why a couple has difficulty conceiving and treats that cause. Japan's total fertility rate sank to 1.26 births per woman in 2022 and 1.20 in 2023, the report states, while registry cycles and newborns hit new highs.

Our editorial summary of this paper, not the article's abstract.

Abstract

Purpose

To summarize assisted reproductive technology (ART) data for 2023 collected through the Japan Society of Obstetrics and Gynecology registry.

Methods and Results

625 out of 638 registered ART facilities took part in the study, documenting 561 664 treatment cycles and 85 048 newborns (+3.3% and +10.2% increases from 2022). The average age of women undergoing treatment was 37.3 years (standard deviation: 4.8); 205 986 cycles (36.7%) involved women aged ≥ 40 years. Among fresh cycles, oocyte retrieval was performed in 281 665 cycles, including 168 343 freeze-all cycles (59.8%). A total of 2329 pregnancies and 3375 newborns resulted from in vitro fertilization and intracytoplasmic sperm injection cycles, yielding 1772 and 2502 newborns, respectively. The overall rates for single embryo transfer (SET) and singleton delivery were 80.5% and 96.5%. Frozen-thawed embryo transfer accounted for 271 361 cycles, resulting in 109 850 pregnancies and 80 774 newborns, with a SET rate of 84.7% and a singleton delivery rate of 96.3%.

Conclusions

In 2023, the second year of insurance coverage, the registry recorded the highest numbers of treatment cycles and newborns. Effective registry systems planned for 2026 will enable comprehensive evaluation of emerging trends in Japanese ART practice.

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ART Registries and Codes of Practice: A Reference for Patients and Clinicians

Topics

Assisted Reproduction Registries and Reporting National Registry Data

Assisted Reproduction › Registries and Reporting › National Registry Data

Yukiko Katagiri, Seung Chik Jwa, Akira Kuwahara, Takeshi Iwasa, Masanori Ono, Keiichi Kato, Hiroshi Kishi, Yoshimitsu Kuwabara, Fuminori Taniguchi, Miyuki Harada, Akira Iwase, Norihiro Sugino

Y Katagiri, S Jwa, A Kuwahara, T Iwasa, M Ono, K Kato, H Kishi, Y Kuwabara, F Taniguchi, M Harada, A Iwase, N Sugino

PMID 41450563 41450563 DOI 10.1002/rmb2.70008 10.1002/rmb2.70008 Katagiri et al. 2026, Katagiri 2026

Assisted Reproductive Technology in Japan: A Summary Report for 2023 by the Committee on Professional Scientific Conduct and Clinical Ethics of the Japan Society of Obstetrics and Gynecology

Japan's 2023 ART registry recorded 85 048 newborns in 561 664 cycles

Key Findings

Interpretation

RRM Context

Abstract

Read the guide

Topics

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