Tag - womens-issues

 
 

WOMEN'S ISSUES

Rina Gonoi, a former member of the Self-Defense Forces, who has accused colleagues of sexually assaulting her during her time in the military, speaks in Yokohama on Friday.
JAPAN / Crime & Legal
Dec 11, 2023
Former Japanese soldier fights for justice in landmark sexual assault case
A former Self-Defence Forces member's yearslong fight for justice against the men she has accused of sexually assaulting her will reach a climax on Tuesday when a court delivers a verdict in a trial that has drawn international attention.
Actress Midori Suiren (center), filmmaker Kenzo Kaga (right) and cinematographer Shin Hayasaka attend a news conference in Tokyo on Thursday.
JAPAN / Society
Dec 7, 2023
Actors say sexual abuse is a structural problem in Japan’s film industry
Despite the revelation of Johnny Kitagawa’s sexual abuse, the actors say their claims are being trivialized as personal relationship issues.
Kadokawa headquarters in Tokyo's Chiyoda Ward
JAPAN / Society
Dec 6, 2023
Japan firm nixes translation of U.S. book questioning trans surgery
Kadokawa unveiled its decision to suspend the publication of the Japanese version of "Irreversible Damage: The Transgender Craze Seducing Our Daughters."
Rules changes will limit the weighing of gymnasts in Britain.
MORE SPORTS
Nov 30, 2023
Britain restricts weighing of gymnasts in wake of abuse
Gymnasts who are 11 and older in Britain may now be weighed only with their permission and with the permission of a parent if they are under 18.
University students attend a job fair. If Japanese companies continue hiring people based on the university they graduated from, acquiring extra qualifications or reskilling won't impact candidates' job prospects.
COMMENTARY / Japan
Nov 29, 2023
Kishida’s stimulus package needs rethinking, not reskilling
The government aims to promote reskilling for nonregular workers to boost their job prospects, but this won't matter if hiring practices don't change.
National Police Agency Commissioner-General Yasuhiro Tsuyuki and other officials inspect Tokyo's Kabukicho district on Monday.
JAPAN / Crime & Legal
Nov 29, 2023
Japan moves to strengthen crackdown on malicious host clubs
Some women end up with massive debts and are forced into prostitution to repay the sums.
Customers look at products on display outside a drug store in Tokyo on Friday. As part of a trial, 145 stores nationwide will be allowed to sell morning-after pills until the end of March.
JAPAN / Science & Health
Nov 27, 2023
Japan to start trial of over-the-counter sales of morning-after pills
The health ministry will allow 145 stores nationwide to sell morning-after pills until the end of March.
Protesters on Saturday during a demonstration, on International Day for the Elimination of Violence Against Women, in Mexico City
WORLD / Society
Nov 26, 2023
Thousands march across globe to denounce violence against women
Thousands of people took to the streets across the world to condemn violence against women.
For some brides to be, all it takes is one online search for wedding dresses or bouquets to trigger a flood of targeted wedding ads to their accounts.
LIFE / Lifestyle
Nov 25, 2023
For brides on social media, diet ads are becoming unavoidable
Whether it's searching for bridesmaid dresses or posting pictures of their engagement rings, brides' innocuous online activity leads to targeted ads.
Former Self-Defense Forces member Rina Gonoi
JAPAN
Nov 22, 2023
Ex-SDF member Rina Gonoi makes BBC's 100 Women list
The broadcaster commended Gonoi for speaking out about her experience of sexual abuse and launching "a public campaign calling for accountability."
Female managers of Mitsui Sumitomo Insurance take part in a training session in Tokyo in October 2018.
BUSINESS
Nov 20, 2023
Listed firms in Japan work on fostering female managers
An increasing number of publicly traded Japanese companies are actively fostering female managers to assume leadership roles in the future.
A report by MSCI ESG Research showed that just one-tenth of MSCI Japan Index firms have reached the 30% female board member threshold that the government is seeking for top-listed businesses.
BUSINESS
Nov 20, 2023
Japan boards may struggle amid pressure for diversity, MSCI says
Just one-tenth of MSCI Japan Index firms have reached the 30% female board member threshold that the government is seeking for top-listed businesses.
Human Rights Watch Asia program officer Teppei Kasai (center) speaks during a news conference in Tokyo on Tuesday.
JAPAN / Crime & Legal
Nov 15, 2023
Japan women prisoners suffer serious abuse: Human Rights Watch
Handcuffs during pregnancy, separation from newborn babies and insufficient care for elderly inmates are among the abuses suffered, the rights group said.
A man who claims to be "a woman inside" has been arrested for entering the women's bathing area at a hot spring facility in Mie Prefecture.
JAPAN
Nov 14, 2023
Man claiming to be woman arrested for entering female baths in Mie
The suspect was quoted by the police as saying, "I'm a woman inside so I don't understand at all why I'm not allowed in the women's baths."
Chinese working women, like in most countries, bear an unfair and disproportional burden when it comes to family care and household work.
COMMENTARY / World
Nov 10, 2023
Gender roles and explaining China’s fertility drought
Because the focus has been on the impact of high childrearing costs, the career penalty on women when they have a child has largely been overlooked.
The ¥100,000 financial aid comes hand-in-hand with consultation support that encourages expecting mothers to attend meetings in their municipalities throughout their pregnancy where they can ask for advice and information on childbirth.
JAPAN / Society
Nov 9, 2023
Japan's cash handouts for pregnant women to be made permanent in 2025
The plan entails handing out a total of ¥100,000 to all residents of Japan who are pregnant.
Abortion rights activists and counterprotesters demonstrate outside the U.S. Supreme Court in June on the first anniversary of the court ruling in the Dobbs vs. Women’s Health Organization case, overturning the landmark Roe v. Wade abortion decision. 
COMMENTARY / World
Nov 8, 2023
U.S. abortions haven’t dropped since Dobbs ruling
The #WeCount project says the number of U.S. abortions increased by about 2,000 between June 2022 and June 2023 compared with the prior 12-month period.
Satoko Nagamura, a representative of Kodomap (right), hands a letter of request to Koji Takahashi, a senior official at the Children and Families Agency, in Tokyo Tuesday.
JAPAN / Science & Health
Nov 7, 2023
Japan hospital denies LGBTQ woman support for IVF pregnancy
Japanese hospitals are wary of accepting pregnant women unconditionally due to a lack of legislation related to conception via donated sperm.
Vehicles and pedestrians by the intersection of Burgos and Real streets in Tacloban city, Leyte province, the Philippines, on Oct. 12.
ASIA PACIFIC / Society
Nov 6, 2023
Sex trafficking plagues Philippine city where typhoon wrought havoc
Typhoon Haiyan, which killed more than 6,000 people and displaced millions, triggered a humanitarian crisis that provided fertile ground for traffickers.
Single-use bathing wear that comes in the form of a blouse or a dress
JAPAN / Society / Regional Voices: Kyushu
Nov 6, 2023
Breast cancer survivors face tough time at public baths
It is customary in Japan not to take clothing or towels into the water at public baths, and some facilities make it a rule for hygienic reasons.

Longform

Traditional folk rituals like Mizudome-no-mai (dance to stop the rain) provide a sense of agency to a population that feels largely powerless in the face of the climate crisis.
As climate extremes intensify, Japan embraces ancient weather rituals