It was a move to show that Japan’s ruling party is committed to gender equality after the sexism drive that forced one of its former prime ministers, Yoshiro Mori, to resign as head of Tokyo’s Olympic organizing committee.
The time has come to give more prominence to female members of the Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) at important meetings, the party’s secretary general, Toshihiro Nikai, said this week, days after Mori stepped down following his assertion that meetings attended by “talkative women” Tends to “drag”.
But Nikai’s attempt to address the gaping gender gap in his party quickly unraveled when it became clear that the small groups of women attending the meetings were expected to be seen but not heard.
The LDP, which has ruled almost indisputably since 1955, has suggested that groups of about five women be allowed to attend 12-member meetings of the 12-member council, provided they remain silent observers.
The proposal was mocked on social media and by opposition MPs. “Male chauvinism and discrimination against women are always part of the LDP,” wrote one Twitter user.
Nikai, a powerful faction leader who backed Yoshihide Suga to become prime minister last autumn, defended the proposal, allowing female observers to send their views to the council secretariat instead of their talks. “It’s important to fully understand what kind of discussions are taking place,” Nikai, 82, told reporters. ‘Look’ that’s what this is about. ‘
Nikai reportedly made the proposal a day after Tomomi Inada, a former defense minister who is campaigning to raise the status of female MPs, suggested that women be allowed to attend important party meetings. Last year, Inada called Japan a ‘democracy without women’ after Suga appointed only two women to its cabinet.
“Women make up half of Japan’s population and 40% of LDP grassroots membership,” she said. “If women do not have a place to discuss policies they want to implement, democracy in Japan can not help but be biased.”
The gender issue in Japan is reflected in the composition of the Second Chamber of Parliament, where only 9.9% of MPs are women, well below the international average of 25.1%, according to the Interparliamentary Union, the global organization of national parliament. In addition, Japan’s global ranking on gender equality ranked it 121st out of 153 countries in the World Economic Forum 2020 report, which is 11 less than the previous year and the largest gap between advanced economies.