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gender equality

Japanese city manager gives speech telling new employees to “play around” to fix birth rate issue

Ah, yes. Why didn’t we think of that?

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High school students create petition to change the name of Family Mart’s “Mom’s Diner” line

These students object to the unconscious sexism of the name.

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What’s the best way to close the gender gap in Japan? Japanese women weigh in

The top answer will not surprise you at all.

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Iranian female soccer fans cross-dress to get into soccer stadium, netizens cheer

In Iran, women are forbidden from stadiums, but for fans of soccer, drastic times call for drastic measures.

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Japanese ryokan custom ignites debate after visitors label it sexist

If you’ve stayed at a traditional Japanese inn with your partner, chances are you’ve experienced this custom before.

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Female high school students continue to be banned on baseball field at Koshien Stadium in Japan

Baseball tournament officials defend the ban on female students as a necessary measure to help protect their safety.

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Japan: one of the few countries in the world where married couples must have the same surname

With Japan consistently appearing in the lowest ranks for gender equality in industrialised nations, the adoption of Prime Minister Abe’s recent bill to promote the role of women in the workplace has been a welcome development in what remains a traditionally patriarchal society.

What the headlines fail to mention, however, are the archaic laws entrenched in the country’s Civil Code that continue to hold women back, including same surname requirements upon marriage, and differences in the minimum marriageable age and re-marriage prohibition period for both sexes.

The UN Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination Against Women has again called for a revision of Japan’s current laws, slamming the country for being one of the few industrialised nations where it remains illegal for married couples to have different surnames.

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