Editing Astrology (section)

=== India and Japan ===

[[File:Bdrates of Japan since 1950.svg|thumb|right|Birth (in blue) and death (in red) rates of Japan since 1950, with the sudden drop in births during hinoeuma year (1966)]]

In India, there is a long-established and widespread belief in astrology. It is commonly used for daily life, particularly in matters concerning marriage and career, and makes extensive use of [[electional astrology|electional]], [[horary astrology|horary]] and [[karmic astrology]].<ref>{{Cite news |title=BV Raman Dies |publisher=New York Times, 23 December 1998 |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1998/12/23/world/bangalore-venkata-raman-indian-astrologer-dies-at-86.html |access-date=12 May 2009 |first=Michael T. |last=Kaufman |date=23 December 1998 |archive-date=16 November 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181116014608/https://www.nytimes.com/1998/12/23/world/bangalore-venkata-raman-indian-astrologer-dies-at-86.html |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{cite web |title=Fame and Fortune |author=Dipankar Das |url=https://www.lifepositive.com/fame-and-fortune/ |access-date=2 August 2016 |archive-date=16 August 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160816094857/https://www.lifepositive.com/fame-and-fortune/ |url-status=live }}</ref> Indian politics have also been influenced by astrology.<ref>{{cite news | url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/south_asia/428081.stm | title=Soothsayers offer heavenly help | work=BBC News | access-date=21 July 2012 | date=2 September 1999 | archive-date=3 March 2016 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160303201858/http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/south_asia/428081.stm | url-status=live }}</ref> It is still considered a branch of the [[Vedanga]].<ref>"In countries such as India, where only a small intellectual elite has been trained in Western physics, astrology manages to retain here and there its position among the sciences." David Pingree and Robert Gilbert, "Astrology; Astrology in India; Astrology in modern times". [[Encyclopædia Britannica]], 2008</ref><ref>{{cite journal |last = Rao |first = Mohan |date = October–December 2001 |title = Female foeticide: where do we go? |url = http://issuesinmedicalethics.org/094co123.html |archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20101103000514/http://issuesinmedicalethics.org/094co123.html |archive-date = 3 November 2010 |journal = [[Indian Journal of Medical Ethics]] |publisher = 	Forum for Medical Ethics Society |volume = 9 |issue = 4 |pages = 123–124 |pmid = 16334916}}</ref> In 2001, Indian scientists and politicians debated and critiqued a proposal to use state money to fund research into astrology,<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.bbc.co.uk/worldservice/sci_tech/highlights/010531_vedic.shtml |title=Indian Astrology vs Indian Science |work=BBC |date=31 May 2001 |access-date=17 June 2009 |archive-date=7 April 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190407182922/http://www.bbc.co.uk/worldservice/sci_tech/highlights/010531_vedic.shtml |url-status=live }}</ref> resulting in permission for [[List of universities in India|Indian universities]] to offer courses in Vedic astrology.<ref>{{cite web|title=Guidelines for Setting up Departments of Vedic Astrology in Universities Under the Purview of University Grants Commission |url=http://www.education.nic.in/circulars/astrologycurriculum.htm |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110512154221/http://www.education.nic.in/circulars/astrologycurriculum.htm |archive-date=12 May 2011|publisher=Government of India, Department of Education |access-date=26 March 2011 |quote=There is an urgent need to rejuvenate the science of Vedic Astrology in India, to allow this scientific knowledge to reach to the society at large and to provide opportunities to get this important science even exported to the world}}</ref>

In February 2011, the [[Bombay High Court]] reaffirmed astrology's standing in India when it dismissed a case that challenged its status as a science.<ref>{{Cite news|date=3 February 2011|first=Hetal |last=Vyas |title=Astrology is a science: Bombay HC |url=https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/india/astrology-is-a-science-bombay-hc/articleshow/7418795.cms |archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20110206024139/http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/india/Astrology-is-a-science-Bombay-HC/articleshow/7418795.cms |archive-date = 6 February 2011 |access-date = 1 January 2023 |url-status = live |work=[[The Times of India]] |language=en}}</ref>

In [[Japan]], strong belief in astrology has led to dramatic changes in the fertility rate and the number of abortions in the years of [[Fire (wuxing)|Fire]] [[Horse (zodiac)|Horse]]. Adherents believe that women born in [[Bingwu|''hinoeuma'']] years are unmarriageable and bring bad luck to their father or husband. In 1966, the number of babies born in Japan dropped by over 25% as parents tried to avoid the stigma of having a daughter born in the hinoeuma year.<ref>{{cite book | url=https://books.google.com/books?id=1bTGN21ev2MC&q=hinoeuma&pg=PA22 | title=Japanese childrearing: two generations of scholarship | year=1996 | access-date=22 July 2012| isbn=978-1-57230-081-1 | last1=Shwalb | first1=David W. | last2=Shwalb | first2=Barbara J. | publisher=Guilford Publications }}</ref><ref>{{cite book | url=https://books.google.com/books?id=uAOrAAAAIAAJ&q=hinoeuma&pg=PA22 | title=The Political Economy of Japan: Cultural and social dynamics | year=1992 | access-date=22 July 2012| isbn=978-0-8047-1991-9 | last1=Kumon | first1=Shumpei | last2=Rosovsky | first2=Henry | publisher=Stanford University Press }}</ref>