Whereas most Japanese political parties, whether the ruling conservatives or the mainstream opposition, effectively have little in the way of fixed party policies, the Japan Communist Party, the nation’s oldest political party, is very different, taking its own platforms very seriously.
Shiori Ito won rape lawsuit damages in what may be indicative of the tide turning against Japan’s poor record on gender equality; but for now, Japan’s performance in the World Economic Forum’s Global Gender Gap Report 2020, released last week, speaks of a grim reality.
The #MeToo movement has reached Japan and highlighted the unsavory reality of the female harassment which exists in abundance.
Then-Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi set a goal of having women occupy 30% of leadership positions by 2020, but Japan will come nowhere close.
