March 4, 2021

A male Liberal Democratic Party member of the Lower House Oniki Makoto, at a Budget Committee meeting on March 2, praised the appearance of a female lawmaker, Marukawa Tamayo who is Minister for the Tokyo Olympic and Paralympic Games and Minister for Gender Equality, as an "Asian beauty".

Recalling his participation in the COP 21 climate conference in Paris in 2015 with Marukawa when she was Environment Minister, Oniki said, "She was called an 'Asian beauty' and was very popular among world leaders."

By assessing Marukawa's political ability tied to her physical appearance, Oniki displayed what is referred to as appearance-based discrimination or lookism. The word "Asian beauty" in the U.S. and Europe contains another meaning behind it which looks down on Asians in general. Therefore, it should not be uncritically and carelessly used.

Marukawa became Olympic Minister after former Tokyo Olympic organizing committee's president Mori Yoshiro made sexist remarks in public.

Oniki's appraisal of women politicians based on physical appearance represents the LDP's patriarchal stance which never reflects on its continued gender discrimination.

Past related articles:
> JCP policy commission chair: Marukawa inappropriate to be Gender-equality Minister [February 27, 2021]
> Tokyo Games' head Mori looks down on women [February 6, 2021]