October 17, 2021

Akahata 'current' column

Riding a train and walking down a street are normal acts of everyday life. Some people, however, suffer the risk of being molested or groped in their daily lives. "Should politicians ignore and downplay the seriousness of this fact?" Japanese Communist Party Secretariat Head Koike Akira in his Diet interpellation demanded that the government take measures to tackle and eradicate the occurrence of molestation.

Molestation or groping occurs every day on trains and streets and is a serious sexual crime. To eradicate these acts is a political responsibility. Koike's interpellation drew a lot of reaction. Some women confided their experiences of being groped on streets when they were high school students.

A survey shows that 70% of women have experience of being groped or being pressed by a male genital in public places. The Japan Youth Conference (JYC) gathers confidential testimonies of junior and high school students who are victimized almost every day on their way to schools. The JYC is conducting a signature-collection campaign calling on the government to conduct a survey on the actual conditions and take concrete countermeasures against molestation and groping.

So far, nearly 30,000 people have signed this petition campaign being carried out by high school and college students. Young people are uniting to move society to force government to take action. To eradicate the occurrence of molestation and groping is a major political challenge inseparable from the pursuit of a gender equal Japan.