Assisted reproductive technology in Japan: A summary report for 2022 by the Ethics Committee of the Japan Society of Obstetrics and Gynecology

Purpose: This descriptive analysis evaluated the 2022 assisted reproductive technology (ART) data collected by the Japan Society of Obstetrics and Gynecology registry.

Methods and results: In 2022 (cutoff date 30 November 2023), 634 of 635 registered ART facilities participated; 602 implemented ART treatment, with 543 630 registered cycles and 77 206 neonates (9.1% and 10.6% increases from the previous year). For fresh cycles, freeze-all in vitro fertilization and intracytoplasmic sperm injection cycles increased, resulting in 2183 and 2822 neonates, respectively. In total, 275 296 cycles resulted in oocyte retrieval, with 158 247 (57.5%) freeze-all cycles. Total single embryo transfer (ET) and singleton pregnancy rates were 82.4% and 97.2%, respectively. The singleton live birth rate was 97.4%. The number of frozen-thawed ET (FET) cycles was 264 412, with 98 348 pregnancies and 72 201 neonates. The single ET rate was 85.3%. The rate of singleton pregnancies was 96.9%; that of singleton live births was 96.9%. Per registered cycle, women had a mean age of 37.6 (standard deviation: 4.8) years; 210 322 cycles (38.7%) were conducted for women aged ≥40 years.

Conclusions: Significant growth in ART cycles and outcomes reflects the impact of recent expanded insurance coverage.