#sexism in Japan

[rapeculturerealities]

‘I was unashamed’: Yumi Ishikawa on fighting sexism in Japan

It was meant to be just one of her regular, mundane musings about life as a woman in Japan. But Yumi Ishikawa’s life changed with a tweet she posted on January 24 this year: “Someday I want to get rid of the practice of women having to wear heels and pumps at work.”

The 32-year-old actor was working as an usher in a funeral parlour at the time, a job that involved eight-hour shifts in heels measuring 5cm-7cm. Her comment went viral; it has been retweeted 29,000 times, helping her become the face of the #KuToo movement — a play on the Japanese words for shoes (kutsu), pain (kutsuu) and #MeToo.

Encouraged by the response, Ishikawa, who is also a freelance writer, launched a petition for a ban on high-heel stipulations by employers in Japan. When she submitted her petition to the health ministry in June, it had been signed by nearly 19,000 people and has now collected more than 31,500 signatures.

[askaceattorney]

Dear EnderGeek,

Not really, because... I'm not trans. I know I passed as a guy, but pretending to be a guy is different from being one in a female body. You know? It's... different. Be yourself, I guess?

- Robin Newman

[erebusvincent]

[muzetrigger]

Daybreak: On the Drakes and Their Courts

https://muzetriggerstudios.wordpress.com/2024/10/19/daybreak-on-the-drakes-and-their-courts/

Sorry for the week delay, everyone! I was initially going to post this last week as usual, but then I realized how long it actually was and how much more I still needed to write, so I've cut it up from 1 post to 7... Yeah, I have a lot to say on the setting and these characters, but if you're up for me rambling about my inspirations, moral concerns about representation, and general writing process for campaigns well, there's going to be a lot of material to sink your teeth into!

This time I talk a lot about Bleach and flowers, the most obvious and natural pairing in the world!... right? Well, in any case, I referenced both with concerning regularity when writing Daybreak so hopefully I can shed a little light on how I constructed the main setting and antagonists for my campaign.

[fatexbound]

Considering how badly Naoto was treated in Inaba, I think the same can be said for Haru, although it's not touched on a lot because she's introduced so late into the game. Most corporations are male-oriented in Japan, so having a woman take over is a first.

They all had their doubts at first, but no one dared speak up when Okumura was alive because he actually have some amount of faith in her running the company. We won't talk about Sugimura being an obvious piece of shit who definitely needed to get his ass kicked.

A restraining order is always a good start.

[arcsin27]

[lilyginnyblackv2]

Okay, okay. So someone posted the scene from Episode 11 of Buddy Daddies, when Kazuki goes to the park by himself out of habit, and then you see the mothers talking to themselves about how they find Kazuki suspicious.

The title of the post “This is why being a Adult Male sucks.” Plenty of the comments are what you would expect them to be. One dude blaming feminists and feminism, etc. There is a lot of good, interesting, and overall important discussions, especially from some fathers who have been called predators for bringing their kids to the park. I wrote a post too that is being generally well received, etc. etc. 

It’s getting upvoted a lot too, which is great. But, there was one comment that made me just laugh. I’m sorry, but...

Text: This [the situation shown in the BD clip] is just a recent American phenomenon because of news and social media in the U.S., so I’m surprised this appeared in an anime unless it was pandering to American audiences.

Like...??? What? I’m sorry? You think women worrying about childless men sitting at park benches in a children’s park is an “American phenomenon” and not a general worry that mother’s might have all around the world? Especially in Japan, where there are train compartments made specifically for women to ride during rush hour because men groping women there is such a huge issue. 

It’s Reddit, specifically r/anime, so there was bound to be one dude that’s like, “any and all social issues are American only, Japan is apolitical and doesn’t care about stuff like this,” etc. etc.  

There is more I could say for sure too, but I have to go and get ready to get a vaccine soon (I need one for Whooping Cough before I start my new job). Anyway, feel free to add to this!

[vibinwiththefrogs]

I feel like a haunting fact of either having studied/interacted a lot with Japanese and Korean culture, or being Japanese or Korean, is that you have to constantly reality check anime fans and k-pop stans on basic facts about these countries and cultures

[thoughts-of-mayo]

Japan Unveiled: A Brutal Look Beyond the Sushi and Sakura

Think Japan is just about advanced tech, anime, and cherry blossoms? Think again. It’s time to rip off the cultural mask and expose the harsh realities lurking in the Land of the Rising Sun.

1. Karoshi Culture: Work till you drop—literally. Japan's insane work hours kill, and "karoshi" (death by overwork) is the grim proof. Productivity over personal health, always.

2. Rampant Sexism: In the boardroom or the home, women get the short end. Gender equality? More like a patriarchal throwback, with women often sidelined in careers and politics.

3. Xenophobia: Scratch the polite surface, and the discomfort with foreigners is palpable. Integration? Good luck if you’re not “pure” Japanese.

4. Suicide Epidemic: Sky-high suicide rates, especially among men. A society that suffocates with pressure and offers little escape or support.

5. Stifling Conformity: Dare to be different? Not here. Individuality is crushed under the weight of societal expectations. Fit in or be ostracized.

6. Elderly Crisis: An aging population with a shrinking workforce. A demographic time bomb waiting to explode, straining resources to their limits.

7. Environmental Hypocrisy: Praised for its cleanliness yet contributing massively to plastic pollution and overfishing. Green on the surface, grey underneath.

8. Child Poverty: For a wealthy nation, Japan’s child poverty rates are a disgrace. Economic disparity continues to grow, leaving kids behind.

9. LGBTQ+ Rights Lagging: Progress on paper, maybe, but reality tells a different story. Discrimination is rampant, and legal protections are laughably inadequate.

10. Education Pressure: A relentless grind from a young age. The education system is a pressure cooker, churning out students stressed to their limits.

11. Fukushima Fallout: A nuclear disaster’s legacy, downplayed and shrouded in secrecy. Environmental and health impacts continue, largely ignored.

Japan isn’t your quirky, tech-savvy utopia. It’s a nation with deep-rooted issues, often swept under the tatami for the sake of keeping up appearances. Time to wake up and smell the matcha—Japan has its fair share of dirt, and it’s not just under the cherry blossoms.

[exilley]

Okay yeah time for me to be bitchy again because i sweeeaaarrr. For a website obsessed with “responsible media consumption” no one has a clue about the historical and social context that frames archetypal and thematic discourse in east asian media. Like for one dollar can you name one important political figure from either japan or korea’s history and their relationship to 20th century imperialist policy. Do you know who occupied korea after japan ceded institutional autonomy over the peninsula. Define confucianism for me

[sharkieboi]

watching Face Off s6 cause they released some more seasons to stream and man I forgot how almost everything about s6 makes me so angry

edit: just realized I’m a fool I was taking about season 6 not season 8. fixed the tags I could but sorry the numbers moved around in my mind 💀💀💀

[springcatalyst]

8

8: A horror movie you liked but will probably never rewatch (give a reason if youd like to)

OOH ok so there's a few actually. BIG one is Irreversible 2002 for reasons that are obvious if you know anything about the movie. It is genuinely so fucking good and fascinating to watch and it feels like a car crash and it's awful (compliment). But also it's hard on your eyes and your brain and your soul and i don't feel like resubmitting myself to it any time soon. And I have some thick skin when it comes to horror. I think this is the only one I wouldn't rewatch because of the content as opposed to just... i'd get bored.

Skinamarink is another one that I liked and think is really well done, but it was a little lacking in the anything environment... I think a rewatch would be boring where a first watch was tense or uncomfortable.

Climax (by the same guy that made Irreversible) is not as hard to watch as Irreversible but it is similarly visually straining, which is a compliment, but it didn't suck me in as much as Irreversible so while it was GOOD, I'm just not interested in rewatching it.

Ok last one because im getting out of hand but now here it is. I watched Eraserhead forever ago (a few years) and like. Yeah it does what it says on the tin. It's weird. It's tentatively good, and I enjoyed it, but it's a little slow and a little too disjointed to be a fun rewatch. UNLESS im making someone else watch it, because that would be entertaining.

Horror movie ask game!

[kindledspiritsbooks]

My Month in Books: March and April 2023

Hell Bent by Leigh Bardugo When a novel ends with a character proposing quite literally going to hell and back again to rescue a friend, it’s more than a little cruel to keep your readers waiting nearly four years for a follow-up. However, I am willing to forgive Leigh Bardugo because Hell Bent is worth the wait. Building on the delightfully creepy world-building from the first book in this…

[inmydrcams]

There's evidence of medical universities in Japan rigging results so that women don't get in..... Guess modern Azula is a feminist cause she thinks women should have as much a right as men to cut into people

[jyslifetimes]

Yin & Young Episode 64 - Mayu Nakamura - Filmmaker

Thanks for your patience Yin & Young listeners! We’re back after a break to bring you this episode with filmmaker Mayu Nakamura! In this short episode, we were lucky to have a chance to chat with Mayu about her experiences growing up in Japan, studying/working abroad, and what stories she wants to tell as a filmmaker.

Follow Mayu Nakamura’s work here:

Website: https://mayunakamura.com/

Twitter: https://twitter.com/missyn510

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/mayun510/

HIGHLIGHTS:

Worked in documentaries after graduating with an MFA from New York University.

Released a recent omnibus feature film called, “She is me, I am her.” 「ワタシの中の��女」

James and Mayu met through a mutual filmmaker friend and connected in Japan.

Grew up in Japan, but went to study abroad at young age in London and eventually the U.S.

Plans on splitting her time between Japan and the States.

Believes the Japanese film industry is slowly trying to move towards being more inclusive and promoting diversity.

Some of the topics she explores in her films are sexism and ageism.

Movies that she revisits regularly are “Days of Being Wild” 「阿飛正傳」, ”Typhoon Club” 「台風クラブ」, “A Brighter Summer Day” 「牯嶺街少年殺人事件」。

Language corner: Japanese

オレオレ詐欺 -　ore ore sagi - lit. “It’s me, it’s me!” scam. The scammer, generally a young male, calls a target, generally an elderly person, and pretends to be a distant relative and scams the listener into giving them money. The name, ore ore sagi, refers to how the scammers would generally start the calls with, “It’s me, it’s me!” 「オレ!オレ!」.

———

Follow us on FB & IG: @yinyoungpodcast. Like/comment to helps others find our work! Yin & Young is produced by James Y. Shih and Daniel Yin. Support us on Patreon: patreon.com/yinyoungpodcast 

Questions, comments, sponsors—email: yinyoungpodcast[at]gmail.com