Feminism in Japan – The Fight Against Japanese Sexism

Japan has a reputation for being a sexist country, with gender inequality and some cultural factors that favor machismo. This raises many questions and doubts. Are there no feminists fighting for equality in Japan? In this article, we will talk about sexism and feminism in Japan.

The History of Sexism in Japan

The Japanese society has never been built on the idea of Gender Equality, at least not in the Western sense, as the Japanese Sociology class itself discusses. From the beginning of Japan, there was a hierarchy between the sexes.

During the Tokugawa period, women were subordinate to men and had to be obedient to the men of the family, whether father, father-in-law, husband, or brother. They were taught only to take care of the family and be good mothers.

Even with the fall of the Tokugawa regime and the Meiji Restoration, the status of women in Japanese society remained unchanged. To this day, women still have a strong role as mothers, except that culturally women manage the household finances.

The Meiji Constitution of 1889 did not grant any legal rights, keeping women in a subordinate condition and under the legal responsibility of “parents and heads of family.” With Westernization, Japanese women began their fight for rights.

Despite the slow progress in resolving some equal situations, this reform prohibited the trafficking of women, allowed women to request divorce, and extended equal primary education to both sexes as early as the 19th century.

The History of Feminism in Japan

The history of feminism in Japan is quite old, but the struggles began alongside feminism in the West. Many historians argue that Japanese feminism has its origins in the Heian period, about 1000 years ago.

However, this idea can be disputed, as most Japanese during this period did not seem to have any awareness of gender equality and more as a consequence of cultural phenomena.

A more precise date would be the early 20th century when Western ideas began to flow into Japanese society. However, Japan has never had any large-scale feminist movement at any point in its history.

The only reason women are protected by the same laws as male individuals was Beate Siota Gordon, an American civilian born in Europe who wrote the draft of Article 24 of the Japanese Constitution.

Many concrete changes were made as a result, including voting rights and reforms in marriage systems. In fact, Japan was quicker to allow women to vote than most other countries.

The economic boom in Japan in the 1990s also brought women into the workforce, allowing them to be independent of men. Unfortunately, gender inequality can be seen in the salary differences between men and women.

Absence of 2nd and 3rd Wave Feminism in Japan

Second Wave Feminism is often considered a popular movement during the mid-20th century that focuses on enlightening women, mainly regarding employment and economic accessibility.

Women demanded rights to access privileges that were previously only available to men, so it can be described as women pursuing masculinity rather than gender equality.

Society became tolerant of girls seeking masculinity, such as purifying scientific academic careers, wearing men’s clothing (like jackets and pants), and having hobbies like shooting and driving, which became trends in the last century.

However, this movement never reached Japan, at least not on a large scale. It seems widely accepted that Japanese culture values a completely different concept regarding gender equality.

Japanese feminism differs from Western feminism in that less emphasis is placed on individual autonomy. This is because Japan is a society that works as a team, so things like individualism are not widespread in Japanese culture.

The resistance of the Japanese people to the struggles of feminism is deeply intertwined with the culture of enduring the worst situations without complaining or making a scene. Even with the struggles of Shizue Kato and Chizuko Ueno, we have not made much progress.

Do Japanese Women Feel Inferior?

According to a survey that asked people if they would like to be reborn as another sex, 46.7% of men and women responded that they would like to stay as they are. Women seem to benefit greatly from this gender difference.

This becomes apparent when you look at Japanese teenagers. When you go to Tokyo Disneyland or to music schools, art schools, and language classes, most of the teenagers present are girls.

Girls have many more opportunities to enrich their teenage lives than boys because girls are exempt from the social obligations imposed on boys, such as academic/professional success and family traditions.

While boys are stuck in cram schools and after-school curricula, often beaten down by their instructors, girls can go out and pursue their passions or hang out with friends. So, in a way, the inequality in Japan is not 100% bad.

Japanese teenage girls also have a significant influence on our culture, which can be felt not only in Japan but around the world. They are often the protagonists of many romances and mangas that even define fashion and youth vocabulary.

Furthermore, gender inequality in Japan is often reinforced by the women themselves. Many older Japanese women tend to vote for conservative politicians. Shintaro Ishihara, the former governor of Tokyo, widely considered ultraconservative, was elected with the support of older women.

There is also this arms race among women, especially housewives, about how to be the perfect woman. Obento is a clear example of this. In other words, women are not trying to be men because they enjoy being women.

Kikokushijo – Repatriated Children

Kikokushijo [帰国子女] refers to the children of Japanese expatriates who participate in their education outside Japan. It is often used to refer to immigrant children who have returned to Japan, or simply Japanese who had a Western life before Japan.

Feminism is gaining strength in Japan because of Kikokushijo who experienced feminism and freedom in foreign lands and are particularly passionate about changing the system. Similar to Brazilians who constantly complain about Japan and its culture.

There are many feminists in Japan, but the vast majority of them are repatriated, immigrants, or people with some experience abroad. Rarely do we hear of a purely Japanese activist. Being a minority, their influence is limited.

Japanese Feminists

Strong-willed women refused to accept the role of “good women” and ended up paying with their lives for their radical activism. Among them, Kanno Suga (1881-1911), Kaneko Fumiko (1906-1926), and Itô Noe (1895-1923) stand out.

Some other women tried to fight fairly by seeking support from liberal men, but they did not achieve good results in trying to change politics. Of course, there are some movements that deserve to be highlighted in this article.

Prominent feminist academics in Japan in recent decades include sociologist Ueno Chizuko and feminist theorist Ehara Yumiko. Nowadays, we have many women pursuing independent careers, referred to as Kyariaūman.

Mitsu Tanaka was the most visible individual figure in Japan’s radical feminist movement during the late 1960s and early 1970s. She wrote a series of pamphlets on feminist topics, the most well-known being Liberation from Toilets.

Misako Enoki was a pharmacist who organized activists to push for the legalization of the contraceptive pill. Her approach was to attract media attention by forming a protest group called Chupiren, which wore pink helmets.

We recommend also researching about:

• Chizuko Ueno, feminist studies academic and activist;
• Sayaka Osakabe – founder of Matahara Net;
• Minori Kitahara, owner of a sex toy store for women;
• Mitsu Tanaka, feminist, acupuncturist, and writer;
• Hisako Matsui, film director;

Feminist Movements in Japan

In 1970, in the wake of the anti-Vietnam War movements, a new women’s liberation movement called ūman ribu emerged in Japan’s New Left alongside radical student movements.

This movement was in sync with radical feminist movements in the United States and elsewhere, catalyzing a resurgence of feminist activism in the 1970s and beyond.

Japanese feminists are so cool that in the midst of the liberation movement, they did not only seek equality with men, but also highlighted that men should be liberated from the oppressive patriarchal and capitalist system.

In 1979, the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women was adopted by the United Nations General Assembly. The convention was ratified by the Japanese government in 1985. Of course, this was not enough.

Sekirankai – Red Wave Society

Sekirankai was the first socialist women’s association. Yamakawa Kikue and others organized the association in April 1921. The Red Wave manifesto condemned capitalism, arguing that it turned women into slaves and prostitutes.

Rural families were forced to hire their daughters to factories due to financial difficulties. These girls were forced to live in dormitories, unable to leave except to work. They worked 12-hour shifts in poor conditions.

Sexism in Language

Women in Japan are often expected to speak according to traditional standards of onnarashii (女らしい). In speech, onnarashii employs an artificially high tone of voice, polite speech forms, and frequency of words considered feminine.

Feminists differ in their responses; some believe that such language is gender-based and find it “unacceptable.” Other feminists argue that the history and differences in vocabulary by gender are not linked to oppression in the same way as in the West.

The Results of Feminism in Japan

Throughout history, the influence of Japanese and Western feminists has managed to bring about significant changes in Japanese society. Below we will list a brief historical overview of these changes:

• 1986 – Implementation of the Equal Employment Opportunity Law;
• 1919 – Creation of the New Women’s Association;
• 1921 – Law allows women to participate in political meetings;
• 1923 – Formation of the Tokyo Federation of Women’s Organizations;
• 1946 – Women were able to vote for the first time;
• 1948 – Abortion legalized in Japan;
• 1976 – Men allowed to use the woman’s surname;
• 1985 – Equal Employment Opportunity Bill approved;
• 1999 – The contraceptive pill was legalized in Japan;
• 2016 – Yuriko Koike became the 1st governor of Tokyo and was re-elected in 2020;

I intend to update this historical record of achievements, if you remember any important dates, just comment…

Other achievements for the benefit of women include the implementation of women-only cars and other establishments, thus allowing for safety. Another widely discussed topic is the safety of women in Japan against perverted men.

Article 14 states: “All people are equal before the law and there shall be no discrimination in political, economic, or social relations on account of creed, sex, social status, or family origin.”

Article 14 of the Japanese Constitution

The Influence of Women in Japan

Women in Japan are superior in many aspects; I do not understand the idea of some extreme feminists wanting to be equal to men in certain areas. I do not see any man wanting to wear a skirt or walk naked (without generalizing, I am talking about the extremists).

Women have been voting in Japan for over 70 years; in fact, more women vote than men in the national elections. If Japanese women were seriously unhappy with their situation, they could support candidates who put “sexism” first.

Sexism and feminism are not hot topics in Japan, even though the media frequently addresses such issues. We can culturally see the presence of women in Japanese media; they are protagonists in games and are seen as leaders.

Take any American game, cartoon, movie, or TV show. A large part has macho protagonists or male-centered stories. In Japan, most stories have female leadership and guidance.

Speaking of culture, the world’s first novelist is Murasaki Shikibu, who wrote “The Tale of Genji” in the early 11th century. Literature in the Heian Era (794-1085) was predominantly female.

Japanese education was free for the upper class in such an early and tumultuous period of history. All of this was thanks to low barriers and equal educational opportunities, unlike many developed Western countries.

The richest and most influential celebrities in Japan are women. Women have more social freedom and less pressure than men. Perhaps the fact that it is easier to be a woman than a man in Japan contributes to the lack of feminist power.

Is Japan Really Sexist? Is There Gender Inequality?

In conclusion, there is a social structure within the country that prevents feminism from occurring, and the reinforcement of gender prejudice comes not only from established men but also from women themselves. The system works this way, whether we like it or not.

There are movements to change the system, but most of them are of foreign influence or led by foreigners and have limited influence in Japan. Those who proclaim Japan as “sexist” are predominantly foreign men and women.

When they are not foreigners, they are usually high-level career women. You will not see any interviews with ordinary Japanese women. You will not see quotes from ordinary Japanese women talking about sexism or feminism.

If you are a Brazilian complaining about gender inequality or sexism in Japan, know that Brazil ranks 94th in the GII and 79th in the HDI, while Japan is 22nd in the GII and 19th in the HDI. In other words, Brazil is more sexist than Japan.

These calculated values show that Japan loses 0.103 in development due to gender inequality, while Brazil loses 0.407. So before questioning cultural values, you might want to change your way of thinking a bit.

It is undeniable that there is gender inequality or sexism in Japan, in Brazil, or in any country in the world, and cultural factors denote this. Even so, before criticizing the culture of countries, it is better to try to look at your own navel.

In fact, I have seen many Japanese ask the same thing about Americans and Brazilians. You should ask why humans are sexist and label the Japanese or Japan as sexist. Each culture and society has its way of solving things.

A Japanese person told me that the reason people think Japan is exclusively sexist is that they do not have enough knowledge about the history of “sexism,” “the women’s liberalization movement,” “machismo,” “chivalry,” and others.

Sorry, I did not mean to be rude, but I am honestly tired of so much generalization that people make about certain subjects. It seems to be part of Brazilian culture to complain about things, so such phrases are only for those who question Japan in a rude and unfair manner.

This text was written based on the responses of various women on sites like Quora, as well as thorough research in articles, books, and academic studies on feminism in Japan. These are not my words, but the words of the people!

To complement this article, we recommend reading our article on the topic: “Japanese Women, Respected or Undervalued?“. I hope you enjoyed this reading! If you liked it, share it and leave your comments.