In Kamakura era, which was from 1185 to 1333, the ideal image of women was one who stayed home, did chores, and supported her husband who was working outside. Then time passed, as part social developments, the government promoted women’s participation in society. Now in 2016, men and women are treated equally at least superficially. However, the reality is that women are still in a lower position in the society and suffers from discrimination and harassment. This paper analyzes women’s discrimination at work-place and its cause, while considering what Japanese society should do to close the gender gap between men and women.

In 1999, one law named Danjo Kyoudou Sankaku Shakai Kihon Hou was promulgated and enforced in Japan. This law aims to create a society in which both men and women can enjoy the social, political, and economical benefits while also sharing responsibilities equally. Under this law, women are regarded as equal members of society, ensuring their right to participate in activities in any field. However, according to a report issued by the World Economic Forum, the score of equality between men and women in Japan was 0.6530 in 2012, ranking in the 101th position among of about 140 countries.[1] This evaluation is relative to other countries, but the rank of Japan is very low when looking from world’s perspective. Why does Japan rank so low? Focusing on women’s working condition, the answer will come to light.

There is a law named Danjo Koyoukikai Kintou Hou in Japan. According to the Ministry of Health, Labor and Welfare in Japan, this law ensures women’s rights in the work-place for example by banning companies from discriminating based on sex while recruiting or by giving employees reasonable wage based on their achievement, not on the sex.[2] This is based on the belief that sexual discrimination and harassment in the work-place is an unforgiveable deed that impairs individual dignity unreasonably and prevents workers from performing tasks effectively, affecting the social reputation of businesses.[3] According to a survey conducted in 2009, the proportion of women who work in management positions has been increasing since 2000, but the ratio is still small compared to men: women only represent 11.1 % of managers, 5 % of section managers, and 3.1 % of department managers.[4] Interestingly, this proportion declines as the size of the business becomes bigger. For example, the proportion of general manager of women is 5.1 % in businesses with 30 – 99 workers. On the other hand, the proportion of women at the same level is only 1.2 % in companies with over 5000 workers.

There are several reasons why the number of women working at the management level is small. In 2011, when asked why companies have a few women managers, the companies supplied the following responses to a survey conducted by the Ministry of Health, Labor, and Welfare in Japan in 2011[5]:

1. 54.2 % There are few women who have good judgment and essential knowledge or experience.
2. 22.2 % There are potential women who will take management positions, but they haven’t worked for the necessary years to be managers.
3. 19.6 % The successive working terms are short, and women quit jobs before they become managers.
4. 17.3 % Women don’t hope to become managers.
5. 11.6 % Due to heavy house work, women cannot work as hard as men.
6. 8.9 % Management level jobs are too hard for women.

As far as 1, the possible reason why there is few women meeting the qualification for higher position is caused by Japanese job hunting system. Different from American society, except for some professions such as doctor, lawyer, or teacher, most Japanese companies basically accept any students from any majors. In Japan, during the selection, companies tend to focus more on entrance examination, student’s personality, and school’s name rather than their major and experiences. Therefore, for example, student majoring in music or art can enter large business company specializing international trade. Also, almost all Japanese college students do job hunting and go into companies right after the graduation, so they don’t have any working experiences related to their expected job in the company, and students cannot judge if their ability meets the working qualification or not beforehand. Some companies accept internship to give students working experience, but the internship is not common among students in Japan, so most students don’t experience that. Even if there are available internships, Japanese internship is totally different from American’s one: many internships last only for several days, not for three months like America, so students can see only superficial things that the companies do, and cannot try their ability to conduct the tasks. Additionally, the number of women who major in business or economics is small compared to men: popular majors for women in Japan are human studies, education, and nursing.[6] Also, it is difficult to change their original majors to new ones in Japan, and so if students realized what they really want to pursue during the school life, there is no way but studying their first major until they graduate. For these reasons, mismatch between companies’ specializations and students’ abilities occurs frequently, and so Japanese businesses lack of women who can act as manager. Regarding to 2 and 3, compared to average men’s successive working term of 13.2 years at a company in 2012, women’s working term at the same year was 8.9 years.[7]

These gaps about the position between men and women lead to new problem: that is wage gap.

A report conducted by Risona bank, a Japanese big bank, describes that the wage gap between men and women has been closing, but still wide. According to the report, when looking at men’s wage as 100, the wage of women was 59.7 and 67.8 in 1986 and 2008 respectively.[8] The wage gap in Western countries is about 80 % ~ 90 %[9], so it can be said the wage gap in Japan is considerably large. At company level, each industry has been trying to reduce the gap for example by allocating jobs to suitable workers based not on sex but on their abilities or introducing flex-time system to secure working hour while supporting workers’ life. However, the gap still exists. It’s because the low wage has the close relationship with the positions in companies: in general, the more employees work at higher position, the more salary he/she can receive. Therefore, even if companies try to close the wage gap, it is difficult to fill the gap unless women work at higher positions.

Another reason for the lack of women managers and the wage gap is that it is difficult for women to come back to full time positions after they resign for child rearing. According to the National Confederation of Trade Union (NCTU), women accounted for 41.6 % of all workers in Japan in 2006. However, about half of them were part-time workers, and their numbers increases every year.[10] Once they resign, in most cases, the remaining jobs for them are part-time jobs, leading to a wage gap. Due to the gap of position, successive working year, job type, the wage of women is small compared to men. Despite the fact that the Danjo Koyoukikai Kintou Hou bans companies from dealing unfairly with women who are supposed to take days off for child birth, in fact, there are many violation against it. The NTCU reports that the number of women who want to continue working after child birth has increased, but 70 % of women still quit their jobs after their first child. Actually, some companies are trying to get men to support their wives and to share the responsibility for child rearing, but men are reluctant to take days off, and long-time working as Japanese custom prevents men from taking actions, so the time men spend for house work is average only 59 minutes per day in Japan.[11]

Since the enforcement of Danjo Kyoudou Sankaku Shakai Kihon Hou, the Japanese government has been trying to secure women’s position in society. However, the concept that women should stay home and do chores is still rooted deeply in Japan. When children are small, they see that their father works outside to earn money and that the mother takes care of them or cook dishes for the family, the traditional Japanese family. Therefore, when children grow up, they think they will proceed on the same track. Those who believe this concept is correct are rampant throughout Japan, and people who promote women’s penetration into the society are minority, leading to the above problems.

One of the reasons why Japan should address the problems is that the gap between men and women at work-place could lead to the decline of GDP growth in Japan. According to a report from the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD), if Japan could not close the gap, the working population in Japan would decrease by 10 % over next 20 years, but if could realize the equality, it is predicted that GDP will increase by about 20 % over 20 years.[12] Gender discrimination is not only the issue at business unit, but also the social problem at a country level. Also, in moral aspect, Japan should tackle this issue because it is believed that all human rights are equal in Japan. In Japanese history, there is one famous quotation: Ten wa hitono ueni hito wo tukurazu, hitono shitani hito wo tukurazu. This is the word from Yukichi Fukuzawa, a founder of Keio University, and means that all human are equal. If people believe that the traditional concept of family style is correct, why cannot they believe the historical word that men and women are same human and have equal human right as well? Of course there is a discrepancy between the concept and the quotation in that giving equal rights to men working outside and women staying home. However, if the Japanese really values its tradition, they should esteem the history word as well. Otherwise, Japan would be regarded as a country that prioritize men over women, and would damage its reputation from international perspective. There are several solutions against the problems for example enabling students to switch their major easily and giving them opportunities to learn business area by establishing flexible major selection system like American’s one. It would be also a good way that schools incorporate internship into their curriculum to impose the completion of internship as a credit for graduation on students.

Through the research, it is revealed that Japan still has the sexual discrimination over women and the laws don’t work effectively to eliminate the discrimination from work-place. The sexual discrimination is a serious problem, but is a key to develop Japanese society at the same time if it is solved. Therefore, the Japanese government should endeavor to realize equal society more than ever.

[1] Ricardo Hausmann, Laura D. Tyson, and Saadia Zahidi, “Ranking by Indicator” in The Global Gender Gap Report 2012 (World Economic Forum)

[2] The Ministry of Health, Labor and Welfare in Japan, “男女雇用機会のあらまし” 8-33

[3] The Ministry of Health, Labor, and Welfare in Japan, “職場のセクシャルハラスメント対策はあなたの義務です”, 3

[4] Katsunori Fukase, “第３５回　男女雇用機会均等法や育児・介護休業脳の運営実態を調べる” March 2012

[5] The Ministry of Health, Labor, and Welfare in Japan, “平成２３年度雇用機会均等法基本調査の概況, July 2012, 6

[6] Gender Equality Bureau Cabinet Office, “平成２６年度男女共同参画社会の形成の状況”

[7] The Ministry of Health, Labor, and Welfare in Japan, “平均勤続年数・管理職に占める女性割合・賃金等のデータについて” 1

[8] Risona Bank, “企業年金ノート,” March 2010

[9] Shunichi Yamaguchi, “女性登録拡大！なぜ男女の賃金格差は縮まらないのか,” November 2014

[10] Zenroren, “女性労働者をめぐる現状”

[11] Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development, “Closing the Gender Gap ACT NOW JAPAN”

[12] Ibid.

Imagine a Japanese living room. What would you expect to see? Would it surprise you that Popeye, The Flinstones, or The Jetsons might be playing on TV? Currently, Japan is recognized as a nation of anime, but its development wouldn’t have existed without the US. The US and Japan share a unique cultural relationship when it comes to anime.

Both the United States and Japan receive economic benefits from the explosion of Japanese anime. First, as for Japan, anime is spread out in all over Japanese society. For example, most convenience stores in Japan collaborate with anime industries to increase the sale of their products, and it is beneficial for the anime industries to advertise their anime as well. Also, there are many TV or portable games which are based on anime sold in Japan, and there are lots of singers singing only anime songs. Anime is rooted in Japanese society very deeply and widely, and it sustains Japanese economy. Additionally, the influence of Japanese anime has extended to the United States. Nissim Otmazgin, a senior lecturer in the Department of East Asian Studies, The Hebrew University of Jerusalem, says in his article that Japanese anime had a huge impact on the economy in the United States as well, and it produced more than US $ 4.84 billion sales in 2003.[1] Although the revenue in export has dropped, anime is still a good market in the United States: programs of anime television are still made, products continue to be marketed and consumed, and anime-related events such as the Los Angeles Anime Expo and Baltimore’s Otakon attract hundreds of thousands of American fans.[2] Even though both countries benefit economically, the citizens of Japan and the United States view anime quite differently.

First, the hierarchic position of anime in Japan is very high. In Japan, there are a lot of professional schools of anime where students can learn everything related to anime, for example how to draw the anime characters, to assemble the story of anime, and so on. Japan puts the emphasis on anime industry, and grows animators who create high-quality anime all over Japan. Although American animation, cartoons, was an imported culture from overseas and was not main culture in Japan, anime has become an important culture for Japanese society. As a result, Japanese anime is enjoyed not only in Japan but also nationally. On the other hand, the perception of animation in the United States is different from Japan. Shinobu Price, a daughter of Joe Price who is a renowned Japanese art historian and collector, says that “Westerners often treat animation, or “cartoons,” with such hierarchical disdain that forces it to be labeled as an inferior art form… or “unrealistic” in its portrayal of the human condition.”[3] Western seems to see cartoons as just a trivial culture in their countries.

Also, the reason why the events related to Japanese anime is held in the US is Japanese anime has wide range of genre. Compared to American animation, Japanese anime has unlimited genre in it, and therefore attracts youngsters of a variety of ages. According to Shinobu Price, audiences can find the following stories in Japanese anime: “wrenching dramas, cheesy romances, storybook adventures, spooky thrillers, historical fantasies, robot shows, gothic fairy tales, slapstick parodies, futuristic dystopias, sports dramas, sci-fi series, gimmicky sci-fi series, sexy cyberpunk techno-mythologies, misogynistic violent pornography, sword and sorcery stories, spoofs of sword and sorcery stories, epic environmental cautionary tales, Norse Goddess romantic comedies, not to mention your normal, everyday life family soap opera.”[4] From these genres, audience can select whatever she/he wants to enjoy. On the other hand, she points out that Western animation, especially American animation, is made for kids (or at least stereotyped such as), and “cannot get out from the realm of fairly tales with manufactured happy endings and token animal sidekick.”[5] The wide range of genre helps Japanese anime penetrate into the society in the United States.

Additionally, according to her, manga (so-called comics in Western countries, such as DC comics) helps to expand the range of audience. Unlike US comic such as DC or Marvel comic which are mainly for boys and men, about one-thirds of manga are comprised by shojo manga which is made for mainly girls and women in Japan.[6] Matt Thorn, a cultural anthropologist, says “In 2000, more than 1.5 billion manga magazines and books were sold, with gross revenues totaling \ 523 billion. Many of those were shojo manga.”[7] Almost of all Japanese anime is based on Japanese manga, and it means that Japanese anime is made for both men and women. Although American animation has both genres as well, they are either for men or for women. On the contrary, Japanese anime is created to get both men and women to enjoy at the same time. In other words, Japanese anime doesn’t have a clear border for gender. This is the reason for Japanese anime to be loved by any gender and ages.

There are several differences between anime and cartoons themselves between Japan and United States, but it doesn’t means either one is superior to the other one. Both anime and animation in Japan and the United States are different culture, and therefore the perception of them is different. One certain thing is that anime and cartoon are the strong bond which connects Japan and the United States.

Reflection on presentation 1 and post to our blog:

• What do you notice about your presentation?

I realized that I should improve speaking skill more. At that time when doing presentation, I myself thought I was speaking well. However, now I’m disappointed that my English is difficult to understand both in terms of fluency and pronunciation.

Also, I was wriggling throughout the presentation, so I should be confident, or be relaxed next time.

• What feedback did you receive from classmates?

I was just talking about my narrative myself, and didn’t pay attention to audience’s reaction. So I should talk to audience and involve them in my story.

• Based upon feedback and your own appraisal, what are your goals for next presentation?

Be confident.

Be relaxed.

Be active more.

It would be difficult to improve English skill by next time, so I have to keep practice everyday.

Today, English is one of the most common languages used by people all over the world. Without English skill such as speaking, reading, listening, or writing, people may encounter difficulties in business, feel awkward during discussion at class, or cannot enjoy an overseas travel. English is supposed to be a tool to survive in an English-speaking world, not a goal. In Japan, we begin to learn English as soon as we enter junior high school, and continue to learn it until we graduate from high school. For the Japanese, however, English is not a tool but a goal for the entrance examination to colleges or universities, and so most students stop learning it after getting into school, leading to the decline of entering the world of Japanese people.

Like most Japanese people, English was just a goal for me. However, an encounter with one English teacher started me studying English hard, and my studies guided me out into the world. I was 17 years old when I first met her. Before meeting her, English was not a second language for me but an unreadable code. I was so lazy that I didn’t try to understand English even as a goal for entrance examination. Luckily, however, I met her, and now I’m here in the US thanks to her. My friends were always complaining that her class was boring, or that she was not good at teaching. But, for me, it was not true. I really liked her class, and made every possible effort to get high score of English quiz and test. One of the reasons why I studied hard in her class was that she was eager to teach us. But, more than that, I studied very hard because she was very much my type despite being around 40 when I was only 17. Sure, I had impure motives, but I passed the entrance examination with a high English score because of her.

I was planning to proceed to a school when I passed the exam, but my father told me, “How about going to school in the US? In your generation, English is essential to survive current globalized world, and you can improve your ability if you went there. Thankfully you have the basis of English.” Before that, I had never thought about going overseas. Additionally, I didn’t have friends who had been to schools overseas around me. Nevertheless, I made a decision promptly, “That sounds exciting! Ok, I’ll go there and do my best.” Something had been changing inside me since I met the teacher, and I think the offer from my father would not have come if I hadn’t met her. It was the moment that the pieces of the puzzle began to fit together and draw the pathway to my future.

My life in the US began in August 2010. While spending time in the school, I met a Russian girl who was six years older than me. Because she was older than me, her thoughts and attitude were mature compared to me, and having such an adult girlfriend stimulated me to make greater efforts on studies. At that time, I was not sure what I wanted to do as my career, so I just put all my effort to study hard to get high GPA, and wanted to work as soon as I graduated. “If I worked and became adult, I could associate with her on equal terms.” At least those were my thoughts. As the time of job hunting and graduation approached, my worries about the future got bigger. At that time, I was taking care of just myself, and didn’t pay attention to my girlfriend. In the meantime, she went back to her hometown, and the distance, not only actual but also mind distance, between she and me was separating away. Eventually, we ended our relationship, and began to walk on each way separately. After breaking up, I continued to study hard, but my initial objective to study hard was to be independent and to get my ex girlfriend to see me as a mature adult, so I gradually lost my sight for the future. “What do I really want to do for the future?” I was always thinking of it. Thinking such a thing, I often remembered days with ex girlfriend. Her dream was to pursue Master’s degree. When I first heard about that, she was 27 years old, and it was a bit surprising for me because Japanese people pursue Master’s degree right after they graduate from their undergraduate schools, and it means that 27 was too late to pursue Master’s degree in Japan. However, it’s just perception and stereotype for those who live in small country like Japan. When looking overseas, students without any job background are a minority, and most students come to graduate school with some job experience. Then I realized that looking for jobs was not only way and that there were options to go to graduate school to pursue what I wanted to learn more. As soon as I realized that, I talked to my father about it. He said, “It’s your life. If you want to do it, do it when you have time to do it. Don’t worry about money.” I thanked my parents and decided to pursue a Master’s degree in the US. And now, I’m still here continuing on my journey.

If I hadn’t encountered the English teacher, if my father hadn’t offered me to go to school overseas, and if I hadn’t met my ex girlfriend at school, I would not be here now. From this experience, I realized that there are opportunities to change your life everyday. For me, it was people whom I had met: My English teacher taught me the importance to learn English as a second language, my father gave a chance to use English overseas, and my ex girlfriend showed me the path to the further education in the US. I’m sure my encounters with new people at MIIS will take me in new, unexpected direction.