Feminism in Japan

Sometimes I forget that it took a lot of strong, powerful people to give me the equality that I take for granted today.

Although studies indicate that attitudes in Japan are changing towards gender equality, there is still a cultural infrastructure based on feminine and masculine domestic roles. Since 2008 there has been a more vocal move towards greater gender equality. This was due to record low birth rates, and record high suicide rates. Studies indicated that these trends were in great part due to those members of society that were of lower status, and considered themselves to be more dispensable, most notably: women. Poverty had been increasing in Japan since the 1980s. Japan also found itself to be on an economic precipice; global studies indicated that the utilization of women in society as a whole was their most guaranteed path towards greater stability and economic growth⁴. This initiated a government based push towards gender equality. Although more women are working, the cultural backing for the movement has yet to come into fruition.

Statistics relating to gender equality

Income Ratio¹:

The estimated female to male earned income.

Japan has an income ratio of 0.44 and a rank of 45 out 65 possible values. The mean value is 0.5 indicating that Japan is below the global average.

Gender Equality Index²:

The Gender Equality Index (GEI) is a measure of the equality of women in a country based on relative education, economic participation, and empowerment. A GEI of 100 would indicate true equality, as of yet, no country carries an index of 100.

Of the 157 countries measured. Japan is ranked at 93 with a GEI of 59.

The mean value GEI of all 157 countries is 61, indicating that Japan has a GEI below the global average.

Women’s Economic Opportunity Index³:

WEOI- A quantitative and qualitative index determined by the following categories for women:

            Labor policy and practice

            Access to finance

            Education and training

            Legal and social status

            General business environment

Japan has an index of 68.15 and an index rank of 32 out of 113 countries assessed.

Country	Income Ratio1	GEI2	WEOI3
Sweden	0.67	88	88.21
Germany	0.59	78	83.94
Spain	0.52	77	70.52
Australia	0.70	75	80.46
Hong Kong	0.73	75	72.9
Canada	0.65	74	80.54
United States	0.62	74	76.72
Israel	0.64	72	70.21
Russia	0.64	71	50.34
Thailand	0.63	70	56.76
Mongolia	0.87	70	N/A
Poland	0.59	70	67.96
Ireland	0.56	69	76.41
Brazil	0.60	68	61.18
Greece	0.51	65	69.38
Chile	0.42	62	60.91
Mexico	0.42	61	60.39
Kenya	0.65	59	41.32
Japan	0.45	59	68.15
Malaysia	0.42	58	55.3
Zambia	0.56	56	36.85
Iran	0.32	54	33.02
Ethiopia	0.67	53	31.25
South Korea	0.52	53	66.22
United Arab Emirates	0.27	50	48.6
Niger	0.34	47	N/A
Morocco	0.24	45	44.11
India	0.32	41	42.68
Yemen	0.25	30	19.23

Table 1: Abbreviated statistics relating to gender equality of 29 countries. The table is ordered by value of GEI.

Overall, I believe the statistics support the claim that Japan does not have gender equality. When compared with other countries, Japan is has an unacceptable inequality between the genders, especially considering other countries of similar economic and political stature.

Although statistics have thus far built my soapbox, my own personal experience and observations are why I chose to write on this topic. Women are not equal to men in Japan, and are not afforded the opportunity to act as an equal.

"Women are simultaneously victims of themselves as well as victims of men and are upholders of society by acting as mirrors to men."

-Virginia Woolf

From my experience I have found that Japanese women are just as much the perpetrators of sexism as men. At my schools there are genders roles to the services done in day-to-day life. Lunch and tea are served by the women. This is true with no exceptions at any of my schools. Although there are female principals, the highest career rank in the school, they are still expected to serve their male subordinates.  At one of my schools all the teachers go into the cafeteria for lunch, the female teachers serve the lunches and assist the students, the male teachers only watch. I am exempt from these gender roles, because I am a foreigner. This seems odd to me, as it implies that they know what they are doing is wrong, but they have no desire to change. 

Drinking is a delicate system of hierarchies and gender roles in Japan. The person of the highest rank, is prioritized, their cup should never be empty. Elderly are prioritized over the young, bosses over subordinates, and men over women⁹. Women are expected to serve men and each other. As much as I hate to admit it, I believe getting “shit faced” greatly diminishes the gender dichotomy. Rock bottom is the same, irregardless of ones own anatomy. 

Women’s option to get “shit faced” is hampered by Japanese culture, and by women’s fear of sexual assault. Japan cannot have gender equality until women are not sexually victimized.

The nature of culture and sex in Japan is infamous. There is a significant tourism pull based around sexual activities, whether it’s for animated porn, soaplands (bath brothels), hugely expensive sex dolls, sex toys, or the far to large market of trafficked women. The legal age of consent in Japan is 13, though most prefectures have laws making it older, and the average is 16^10,12. Unfortunately, the low age of consent subjects girls of a much younger age to sexual pressures. It also allows a market of sexual material that is illegal in all other OECD nations. Common themes that draw sexual tourism are fetishism, the deviance of subject matter, and victimization of women. These traits also perpetuate sexism. 

One of the great facilitators of feminism in western cultures was the pill. It gave women the power to choose when to have sex, and who to have sex with. It simultaneously made sex a less deviant act, and made it less of a commitment¹¹. By taking away much of the prize nature of sex, men and women were able to enter into many more relationships as equals. It also gave women the opportunity to delay the age of pregnancy. This led to and increase in the number of women who got degrees. It also gave career women more time to look for a suitable husband, thus increasing the chances a women would pursue a career path to begin with. The pill reduced the ‘sacrifice’ women made to work5. The pill was not legal in Japan until 1999, the use of the pill is still very low, with only 1.3 percent of Japanese females between 15 and 49 using it⁶. The social changes that the pill affected in the west are not yet prevalent in Japan. Japan is due for a sexual revolution. 

Elbow grease and time are still the predominant method for completing household chores in Japan. Dryers, dishwashers, ovens, all tools for saving time (and energy!) on domestic chores are not available in Japan.  None of these tools is environmental, a large reason for not using them in Japan, but they are locking women in the role of “homemakers”⁷. The failure to use technology to eradicate the necessity for domestic labor diminishes the value of women⁸. Laundry can easily become an all day commitment, it is acutely apparent that a change in the laundry system of Japan, would lead to an outstanding cultural shift. 

Cleaning is generally done by the women. This is where Ben has been subversive for the feminine cause. He cleans. This is surprisingly subversive, and makes people feel quite awkward. They try to tell him, there is no need for him to help, but without admitting to sexism, they cannot come up with a reason to ask him to stop. I will act subversively by assisting with the men’s chores, which are generally those considered physically demanding. Because Ben and I are being helpful, we are simultaneously ruffling feathers, and being polite. We are foreigners, which gives us a free pass to make cultural faux pas. Ben and I take this as an opportunity to allow our foreignness shed light on the rampant sexism found in nearly all facets of Japanese life.

 1:  http://www.nationmaster.com/graph/eco_gen_inc_rat-economy-gender-income-ratio

2: http://www.socialwatch.org/node/11760

3: http://graphics.eiu.com/upload/WEO_report_June_2010.pdf

4: http://siteresources.worldbank.org/INTWDR2012/Resources/7778105-1299699968583/7786210-1322671773271/osawa-JICA-RI-Japan-1-(Osawa).pdf

5: http://www.nber.org/papers/w7527.pdf?new_window=1

6: http://www.cbsnews.com/2100-204_162-637523.html

7: http://www.treehugger.com/corporate-responsibility/french-feminist-blames-green-movement-for-guilting-women-into-old-fashioned-roles.html

8: http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/027753959290097F

9: http://www.ediplomat.com/np/cultural_etiquette/ce_jp.htm

10: http://www.ageofconsent.com/japan.htm

11: http://msmagazine.com/spring2010/thepill.asp

12: http://legal.3yen.com/2005-07-27/is-the-age-of-consent-in-japan-really-13/

Video: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TLQFTJiiVIM

Thank you for reading my essay. I love to research, and I love to write. Please fact check me! I have done my best to remain factual, while still offering a personal perspective. I believe that even articles written with the best intentions can become easily discredited when faulty assumptions are made, or information is misinterpreted. This topic is important to me, so it would mean a lot to me if you would verify, correct, and discredit my sources and assumptions, so that I may preserve my underlying message!