“Know the Reality” AGU Students Explore Women Empowerment in Japan
Sakuya Okada
—Gender gaps have to be filled— This opinion, or should it be said a prayer, has been taking root globally. Although Japan is not an exception with some progress overtime, the current situation is far from good. The World Economic Forum (WEF)’s gender equality report places Japan 125th in 2023. Gender pay gap in Japan is relatively large compared to the other OECD countries, too. A group of School of Social Informatics students here at AGU have explored the issue through a subject Introduction to Project Practice in depth. They even interviewed an international organisation UN Women Japan for insights. On 20th December last year, the group made the final presentation for professors and other students. EIZY interviewed two members of the group Ms. Sari Miyahara and Mr. Tsuzuki Ueno, who provided important tips for a change. This article covers what the group has gone through, highlighting remarks during the interview.
The group’s first task in April was to determine its international issue to focus on throughout the year, in which the members chose women empowerment in Japan. Their primary interest was “economic inequality” broadly in fact, Ms. Miyahara says. “As the members and I discussed further, however, we realised that “gender inequality” is a more precise and better idea.” Then, the members researched Japan’s situation from various perspectives and discussed what exactly is the problem. They concluded that the lack of role models and persistent stereotypes are the two factors preventing Japan’s progress toward building a more equal society.
How to address the issue? To answer the question, the group conducted an interview from UN Women Japan which is an organisation under the United Nations for gender equality and women empowerment. UN Women Japan taught the group that Japan is not the sole country with poor results in economy and politics in the WEF report. In fact, even states with better overall scores than Japan are not doing great in economy and politics, as well as the other two (education and health). Mr. Ueno was surprised to know this, saying “I used to believe Japan’s situation is an extremely different one from the rest of the world, but it may imply similarities to some extent, I thought”. Additionally, with respect to women’s political participation and leadership, it was noted that the countries that introduced the quota system tended to have higher scores in the category of political participation under the Gender Gap Index. Given this, such a measure may be an effective way to change people’s mindsets. Opinions on quotaism vary, but it is legally possible and can directly change the landscape. Continuity is arguably a part of Japanese society, as the proverb “the nail that sticks out will be hammered down” shows. Getting rid of such a mindset is a key, thinks UN Women Japan.
Ms. Miyahara and Mr. Ueno admit there is not a single, striking and immediate solution. With the fixed value of gender roles in various fields including workplace and education (e.g.: physical work for males and delicate ones for females), any approach takes time. It is not easy to overcome the aforementioned two obstacles, but today’s university students will eventually be the generation that assumes responsibility for society: a tiny change in their mind may change the landscape. “I want AGU students to be more aware of the reality”, Ms. Miyahara says. “Knowing the issue in numbers has let us feel it closer to us, raising resolution. I hope everyone follows.”
Not everything was smooth sailing for the group, Ms. Miyahara reveals. Viewpoints on women empowerment are so diverse even among the members that adjusting them was challenging. Complexity of the issue caused another difficulty: the more they learn, the more difficult to define the issue. They have overcome such difficulties by having a leader in the group who organises opinions and determines the course of direction. It seems the project has become an opportunity not only for understanding gender issues but also cooperating with people having respective perspectives. Such a skill is crucial for problem solving, including women empowerment.
