Shinichi Takehara, the 50-year-old mayor of the Kagoshima city of Akune, who posted an entry on his blog blaming modern medicine for failing to weed out the weak, later stated in an address that "in order to establish a vibrant society, we need to delve into the definition of life. Unless we prune it back, our whole society could be ruined."

In references to a TV documentary program on neonatal intensive care unit (NICU), the mayor said: "If branches decay, we must cut them off."