Aiming to address the problem of harassment in the political arena, the government has released a video with short scenes based on real cases of harassment of lawmakers, with a particular focus on younger politicians.
The video, based on 1,324 stories shared by local lawmakers from across Japan who have experienced some sort of harassment by their constituents or senior lawmakers, was uploaded by the Cabinet Office to its YouTube channel on Tuesday.
The 30-minute video introduces various examples of harassment by fellow lawmakers. One case is of gendered harassment, with a lawmaker demeaned based on traditional gender roles in which women are expected to only work in a supportive capacity. In the video, a veteran lawmaker asks a younger female colleague to serve tea at assembly meetings. The man also comments that young women get votes for their looks but suggests they don’t have the ability to participate in politics.
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