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Tuesday, 14th May 2013
In General Japan News,

Japan 31st in State of the World's Mothers index

Japan is certainly not the worst place in the world to be a mother, but it falls far short of being the best, according to an index compiled by Save the Children.

The report, entitled The State of the World's Mothers, ranks 176 countries in terms of maternal health, mortality rates of the under-fives, women's income, political status and education.

The East Asian nation managed to secure 31st place in the index while Finland walked away with the top spot.

Brendan Cox, policy director at Save the Children, said: "This ranking reminds us that even in wealthy countries, there will be higher rates of mortality in the poorest communities and no country should be complacent."

The statistics show that the Democractic Republic of Congo (DRC) is the hardest place in the world to be a mother.

Save the Children reports that a woman from the DRC has a one in 30 chance of dying from maternal causes, compared to women in Finland whose risk is one in 12,200.

Written by  Graham McPherson

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Calls to change inheritance laws for Japanese children born outside marriage (20th February 2013)
OECD report shows high gender pay gap in Japan (21st December 2012)