Japan Press Weekly

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2015 May 27 - June 2 [SOCIAL ISSUES]

Kyoto women march for gender equal society

Women demanding gender equality on May 31 marched in demonstration through a downtown shopping district in Kyoto City. “Why should we be judged by our age or appearance?” their chants resounded in the district on busy Sunday afternoon.

This action was organized by a group mainly consisting of female graduate students and young female workers living in the Kansai region. In the demonstration, around 50 people took part and there were some male participants wearing skirts.

A female participant, who used to feel some hesitation in joining demonstrations, said that after receiving warm responses from passersby, she realized that holding demonstrations is a good way to make their demands heard.

Motohashi Rie, a member of the organizing group, pointed out that although Japan appears to be moving to become a gender equal society with the introduction of various government measures, discrimination against women still exists everywhere one looks. She showed her determination to work for a genuinely equal society by, as a first step, voicing their objection to indirect forms of discrimination.