Worldwide WAN

The Worldwide WAN (W-WAN) introduces activities of Women's Action Network (WAN) and feminist movements, etc. inside and outside of Japan. We translate selected articles in the main WAN website from Japanese into English as well as other international languages including Chinese and Korean. We also publish W-WAN's original articles on this page.

Eulogies to Kazuko Takemura

2012.07.07 Sat

To honor the memory of the late Kazuko Takemura, a feminist famous for her activism as well as introducing theorists such as Judith Butler to Japan, WAN is posting a series of eulogies delivered by her fellow activists and scholars both from Japan and overseas."It was my incredible fortune to have known Kazuko. I met her for the first time when I went to Japan in the summer of 2008. As the host of my visit at her university, she offered me the mo

Labels: Eulogies

Archival Project for Feminism in Japan: Preservation of Organizational Materials

2012.07.06 Fri

After over forty years of second wave feminism in Japan, Japanese society has definitely changed. The strongest power behind this change were numerous grassroots women’s groups throughout the country. Each group was small, but members were patient and with strong wills. Newsletters and organizational pamphlets from such groups connected women and played a significant role in bringing change in society. Today, many of such groups are experiencing

Labels: Document (D-WAN)

How far must we go back to reset ourselves

2012.06.30 Sat

“Women Seeking Nuclear-Power-Free World” held gathering on June 2nd, 2012 titled “Stop the Operation of Nuclear Power Plants! We are the women to send out messages. June 2nd 2012” Lecture: How far must we go back to reset ourselves?Lecturer: Masako Sakata　　Fifty years ago, Rachel Carson wrote in her book, Silent Spring, “Chemicals are ominous substance just like radioactivity and could change the way this globe is and the life itself. If we do

Labels: Lecture Other

Seeking Solutions to the Issue of Comfort Women --- The 1000th "Wednesday Protest" in Seoul on Dec. 14, 2011

2012.05.12 Sat

The 1000th Protest and Japanese SupportersIn August 1991, former “comfort women,” (Korean women who were forced to serve as sex workers for the Imperial Japanese Army) including Kim Hak-Sun, started to raise their voices. Before then, the issue had only been discussed quietly here and there in postwar Japanese society. Some of these testimonies came from soldiers, partly as romanticized memories of their time spent with these women.One such

Labels: Other

Are Gender Equality Measures/Center Unnecessary in Osaka?: Protest Meeting Held on April 28

2012.04.30 Mon

Based on Mayor Hashimoto’s “great reset,” measures to promote gender equality are now on the verge of termination. Programs and buildings of Creo Osaka, the city’s center for gender equality, have been determined by the mayor to be “unnecessary”. Only the information and consultation services will be left to a relevant department of the city office. A citizens' group in Osaka protesting against the plan to terminate Creo and promoting gender e

Labels: Event Information

TAKEMURA Kazuko Feminist Fund Started: Applications for This Year Accepted until June 18

2012.04.30 Mon

TAKEMURA Kazuko passed away in December 2011 at the age of 57 after a one-year battle with a serious illness. She was known as a feminist who introduced Judith Butler and Spivak to Japan as well as for her inspiring thoughts and writings, as represented by such works as About Love and “Post” Feminism. Her lectures were also impressive and unforgettable. In the area of Japanese academic research on gender and feminism it would be hard to find

Labels: Other

WAN Symposium at University of Tokyo: Women's Networks and Media

2012.04.22 Sun

Women’s Action Network (WAN) will host a symposium on women and media on May 13, 2012 at the University of Tokyo, Hongo Campus. In the development of women's movements in Japan, newsletters have played an important role since the 1970s. WAN is aiming to archive those newsletters electronically so that everyone everywhere can access the collective assets.As a part of this ongoing project, the symposium will explore the relationship between women a

Labels: Event Information

2012.03.26 Mon

Purple Hot Line for Women in Need for Consultation Let us hear from you. Purple Hot Line is a toll-free number you can call anytime, anywhere in case you need immediate help as a result of natural disaster, accident, violence, or at time you are faced with overwhelming difficulties or damages. 0120-941-826 You will be connected to someone who will support you and will try to work out your problems together. Women suffering from the follo

Labels: REACH OUT (H-WAN)

Keiko Fukuzawa’s Career Counseling

2012.03.26 Mon

Ms. Fukuzawa provides career support and information not only to female college graduates freshly out of universities, but for women of all ages who are contemplating about changing jobs. If you would like to challenge a new career or restart your career, feel free to request a consultation. Your age and career background will not be mentioned. The following is a message sent to Ms. Fukuzawa for consultation on February 21, 2012: File #5: “T

Labels: REACH OUT (H-WAN)

Counseling for the Heart

2012.03.25 Sun

“Kiyomi’s Counseling Room” powered by Kiyomi Kawano (Feminist Counselor) With the help of the new media known as the “web,” we are now able to seek counseling from Kiyomi merely by accessing her website from anywhere in the world. Your worries may be the same as those of other women without realizing it. With the use of the Internet, your distress can be shared and understood by other women. Following is a message sent to Kiyomi for consultat

Labels: REACH OUT (H-WAN)

Interview with the director of Yellow Cake: The Dirt Behind Uranium

2012.03.18 Sun

In the documentary film Yellow Cake: The Dirt Behind Uranium, German director Joachim Tschirner depicts how the production of uranium, the feedstock of nuclear power, causes radiation exposure and widespread harm. “Yellow cake” refers to uranium in its refined, powdery state that is used in both nuclear weapons and reactors. "By using uranium, you already have a hand in the crime,” he explains in his interview with writer Shin Yamaaki.Photo by Sh

Labels: Cinema (C-WAN)

An Article on Japanese Super-Aging Society by Chizuko Ueno

2012.02.27 Mon

Here is an article by Chizuko Ueno, the managing director of WAN. She is discussing the super-aging society and care insurance system in Japan.Japan’s Long-term Care Insurance System is a Savior in the Super-Aging Society http://www.japanechoweb.jp/society-culture/jew1012

Labels: Other

Global Conference for a Nuclear Power Free World 2012 Yokohama --- A Great Success!

2012.02.22 Wed

Chizuko’s Blog No.17January 17th, 2012The Global Conference for a Nuclear Power Free World was held on 14-15 January at Pacifico Yokohama in Yokohama City, Kanagawa Prefecture. 5,000 people attended the conference on the first day and 5,500 on the second, with 5,000 participating in the demonstration march on the first afternoon, and an overall total of 15,500 participants from 30 different countries. WAN also attended as an advocate.http://npfre

Labels: Other

Poetry -- The Art of Looking　　Film Review by Kei Shimizu

2012.02.21 Tue

“The most difficult thing for me is being ready to write poetry.” I couldn’t get these words from the main character out of my mind and, for a time, it prevented me from writing this review.This is because I doubted whether I was mature enough to face the film Poetry. “What does it mean to make a film now, when films are dying?” asks Lee Chang-dong, the director, who made this film while he was asking himself the meaning of making films and writi

Labels: Cinema (C-WAN)

From the Scene of Protesting the Construction of Kaminoseki Nuclear Power Plant

2012.02.01 Wed

Just past 3pm on March 11, 2011, a call was made to Tanoura Beach from Iwaishima. “We just had an earthquake. Please evacuate the beach immediately for fear of possible tsunami.” Upon hearing this announcement, young people on the beach hurriedly took their kayaks and other important leisure items to the nearby hilltops, and approximately half of them returned to Iwaishima for safety. Generations of people on Iwaishima lived with the blessing f

Labels: Other

Feature Dialogue with Chizuko Ueno --Part III—

2012.01.30 Mon

In commemoration of the publication of Lady Murasaki Shikibu and Her DesiresChizuko Ueno with Junko SakaiVarious arousal pointsSakaiIn that context, I have become more and more fond of Genji’s brother.UenoGenji’s brother?SakaiSuzakuin, I associate him as someone like the Polaris type, you know.UenoAlright, your inclination to Suzakuin can also be analyzed by referring to the Korean drama, Dae Jang Guem. (laughs) I picked up everything about Korea

Labels: Other

Feature Dialogue with Chizuko Ueno --Part II—

2012.01.27 Fri

In commemoration of the publication of Lady Murasaki Shikibu and Her DesiresChizuko Ueno with Junko SakaiLady Murasaki Shikibu and Her DesiresJunko SakaiDo women secretly wish to be raped?UenoYou explicitly wrote, “I wish a mishap of the Casanova-types.” It is a women’s dream that a man of power yet good looking get so badly tempted to make love to you, so did he to his true content. But after the love affair with you, he should die lonely and d

Labels: Other

Movie Review: 'Houri no Shima' - Things Destroyed by Nuclear Power Plants

2012.01.09 Mon

Houri no Shima (Holy Island)　(directed by Aya Hanabusa /2010) Things Destroyed by Nuclear Power Plants by Karin Koretsune Iwaishima, in Yamaguchi Prefecture is a heart-shaped island located in the Seto Inland Sea. 30 years ago, a plan was drawn up to build a nuclear power plant on the shore of mainland merely 4 kilometers across the sea facing the island. Since then, the islanders continued to protest the construction of nuclear p

Labels: Cinema (C-WAN)

Feature Dialogue with Chizuko Ueno --Part I--

2012.01.01 Sun

Feature Dialogue with Chizuko Ueno –Part I–In commemoration of the publication of Lady Murasaki Shikibu and Her DesiresChizuko Ueno with Junko SakaiLady Murasaki Shikibu and Her DesiresJunko SakaiAbout the WorkThe desire to give away secrets, to poke fun at ugly women, to bring misfortune to the Casanova-types—A thousand years ago or now, the way women think has not changed.Many books have been written on the Tale of Genji, but watch what happens

Labels: Other

NPO SANKAKU PLANET lecture “Women’s Poverty from a point of view of Domestic Violence”

2011.12.30 Fri

There was a period of movement preventing violence against women between November 12 and 25, 2011. Nagoya city gender equality center enforces a project regarding prevention of violence against women(domestic violence) in November every year.This year our NPO SANKAKU PLANET called Ms. Mieko Takenobu, a journalist and presently a professor of Wako University from Tokyo and had her talk about “ actual condition of women’s poverty from a point of vi

Labels: Event Information