Ms. Tatsuta, now a 24-year-old model in Tokyo, recoiled at the assumption that she would someday give birth. As her body began to develop feminine traits, Ms. Tatsuta took to extreme diet and exercise to forestall the changes. “To be seen as a uterus that can give birth before being seen as a person, I did not like this,” she said. Yet in Japan, women who seek sterilization procedures like tubal ligation or hysterectomies must meet conditions that are among the most onerous in the world. That makes such surgeries difficult to obtain for many women, and all but impossible for single, childless women like Ms. Tatsuta.

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Persons: Hisui Tatsuta, Tatsuta, ” Locations: Tokyo, recoiled, Japan, Tatsuta