Why are Chinese mothers going to Japan to freeze eggs as birth rates decline?

Chinese-born Zhong Lei is among thousands of women who have frozen their eggs as a means of prolonging their fertility. Opting for treatment in Japan because of the nation’s advanced techniques, Zong said she found the process straightforward and helpful. In response to a declining birth rate, Japan introduced a subsidy programme in September 2023 to ease the financial burden of the procedure. Although she was not eligible for the subsidy herself, Zhong’s journey sheds light on growing concern in China about reproductive options.