Japan Press Weekly

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2014 September 17 - 23 [SOCIAL ISSUES]

Tokyo JCP demands resignation of chair of gender equality legislators’ group over sexist remarks

The Japanese Communist Party Tokyo Metropolitan Assembly Members’ Group on September 17 demanded that the chair of an assemblymembers’ group for gender equality resign as chair for sympathizing with sexist jeering in the assembly.

The inter-party group, which has been inactive since 2009, held a general meeting on the previous day to discuss ways to resume its activities in response to the sexist heckling by an assemblyman aimed at a female colleague during an assembly session in June who shouted, “You should be married.”

Liberal Democratic Party member of the assembly Nojima Zenji, after assuming the chair of the group, said to the press, “I would say to a woman, ‘Don’t you plan to get married?’ in informal conversations.”

JCP lawmaker Oyama Tomoko and other two JCP members on the same day told Nojima that his remark goes against the idea of gender equality and is unacceptable even if it is said in private. She added that Nojima should step down as chair of the women empowerment group as he is not qualified.

Later on the day, Nojima at a news conference said that he will not resign because he believes that he is just the right person to head the group.

Past related articles
> Political parties except JCP overlook sexist jeering issue [June 26, 2014]
> LDP sexist assemblyman pledged to ‘respect’ women’s rights [June 24, 2014]
> Cross-party Tokyo assemblywomen protest against sexist jeering [June 20 and 21, 2014]