May 24, 2024

Women’s rights advocacy groups on May 23 took to the streets near Shinjuku Station in Tokyo to increase public support for their fight to have Japan ratify the optional protocol to the UN Convention on the Elimination of All forms of Discrimination Against Women (CEDAW).

Along with Japanese Communist Party Vice Chair Kurabayashi Akiko (Upper House), Upper House lawmakers of the Constitutional Democratic Party of Japan and the Social Democratic Party delivered speeches in solidarity.

Using a microphone, participants in turn talked about the importance of improving women’s rights in Japan in order to meet the minimum international standards and called for Japan’s approval of the OP-CEDAW.

A member of a civil group working to realize the full implementation of CEDAW, “OPCEDAW Action”, Nakajima Michiko, pointed out that more and more local governments have adopted opinion statements calling for Japan’s ratification of the optional protocol which contains a system allowing investigations based on individual complaints submitted to the CEDAW Committee. She noted that the UN committee in October will examine the Japanese government’s progress on the implementation of measures to advance gender equality. She expressed her determination to work hard to strengthen public movements to push the government to ratify the optional protocol before the UN committee’s examination.

Sakamoto Yoko of the mNet-Information Network for Amending the Civil Code asked passersby for support for the campaign calling for the introduction of a selective dual surname system.

A Japan NGO Network for CEDAW (JNNC) member, Yuzuki Yasuko, as major factors underlying the gender wage gap in Japan, cited that many women work low-paid non-regular jobs, and pointed out that it is important to increase the minimum hourly wage to 1,500 yen nationwide.

Past related article:
> Pro-CEDAW activists urge PM Kishida to ratify optional protocol before G7 Summit [March 4, 2023]