To reduce a burden on a subject and an operator of a breast X-ray photographic apparatus.

When a motor provided in a compression plate driving section 21 is driven and compression by a compression plate 4 is started, a compressive force acquisition section 22 and a breast thickness acquisition section 23 start acquiring the compressive force and breast thickness and makes a compressive force variation computation section 24 compute a compressive force variation each time the breast thickness decreases by a prescribed amount, so that a plotting section 25 plots the compressive forces acquired by the compressive force acquisition section 22 and the compressive force variations computed by the compressive force variation computation section 24. An extraction timing determining section 27 determines traction timing on the basis of the plot prepared by the plotting section 25 and the area information stored by an area storage section 26. Specifically, the extraction timing determining section determines the point of time when the plot prepared by the plotting section 25 moves to an area suitable for extraction of hands which the area storage section 26 stores to be extraction timing.

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