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.

Has the concept of labor changed?

2011.12.12 Mon

I attended the symposium coordinated by Chizuko Ueno with participants including Emiko Takenaka, Mari Osawa, Mitsuko Miyaji and Kayoko Akabane. Each participant is a leading researcher and activist in the fields of feminism and labor studies. This symposium commemorated the 10th anniversary of the Creo Osaka and was entitled “The Future My Choices Bring About – Tomorrow of Living and Working.” It was certainly worth all my efforts to spare some

Labels: Other

Unwillingly Signed Divorce Paper: A Case of Non Japanese Couple with Different Nationalities

2011.11.30 Wed

Question: I am a graduate student from country A. I have a husband, who is from country B, and a child, who is two years old. My husband and I met each other as foreign students and got married in Japan. The three of us still live in Japan. My husband is not interested to take care of the child and has started to complain, “I want more free time,” and “I cannot get relaxed because of the kid.” The other day, he asked me to sign my name t

Labels: Legal Advice

Women's Peace Prize in 2011

2011.11.30 Wed

This year's Nobel Peace Prize is one of great milestones for women activism. The Worldwide Women's Action Network (W-WAN) is pleased to post related information, provided by Betsy Kawamura who is the founder of Women for Non Violence (www.w4nv.com) in Norway, for celebrating two big events in this fall: womens’ peace prize and the launch of W-WAN’s weblog. ***** Women's Peace Prize Saturday, December 10th the Nobel Peace Prize will be handed ou

Labels: Commemoration

The 1st National Exam for Certified Care Workers under EPA to be Held in Jan.2012.

2011.11.23 Wed

The Association of Japanese Language Education (AJLE) has a working group to support nurses and care workers who are candidates for certification in Japan under the Japan-Indonesia Economic Partnership Agreement (EPA). This article mainly focuses on the current situation of the candidates for care workers, as the examination system differs for nurses and care workers. The first group of care workers sent to Japan under the EPA for ce

Labels: Other

What’s Going on in Schools and Homes and on Streets? ----3rd Symposium on Victims of Pornography and Human Rights of Women and Children

2011.11.16 Wed

The Association for Victims of Pornography and Sexual Violence has been raising questions about Japan's social conditions where the violation fo sexual rights and the wide-spread of pornography do not receive enough attention. This year we are organizing our 3rd symposium to consider the environment in which children are being raised as well as the sexual harassment and abuse in schools and local communities.The symposium will be held in a la

Labels: Event Information

Sociologist Chizuko Ueno’s Online Seminars

2011.11.02 Wed

Chizuko Ueno, an author of many well-known books, Japan’s foremost feminist, sociologist, and former professor of the Graduate School of the University of Tokyo, started seminars we can watch online. Since she retired from the university, she has been active as the managing director of Women's Action Network (WAN).Her current research interest is "how single men and women can live alone for a long time and die at home."The first Ueno Seminar pres

Labels: Ueno Seminar

Join Us! - Women's Organization against Nuclear Power

2011.11.01 Tue

We launched Women's Organization against Nuclear Power. (You can find the list of who "we" are in the original website but it's only available in Japanese.) The kick-off meeting starts at 1:30 p.m. on November 23rdin Tokyo .The Fukushima nuclear power plants’ accident teaches us that human beings cannot control nuclear power plants. Operating power plants in Japan, the earthquake-prone archipelago, is extremely risky and we don't have any solutio

Labels: Organizations

Where a Women’s Lib Activist Met Creative Works on Homosexual Themes -- report on the Yaoi/BL Symposium

2011.10.31 Mon

The word yaoi in Japanese refers to a genre of creative works whose theme is male and male gay relationships, and yet ones that target female audience. It is also called “BL,” which stands for “boys love.”On October 2, at the campus of Osaka University, a symposium on Yaoi/BL was held for the second time following the last year. The title this year was Female Writers of JUNE Fictions  the Era of Azusa Nakajima’s Courses on Fiction Writing. JUNE

Labels: Other

Women's Korean Wave vol.21 Definitely Neighbors (Part 2 of 2)

2011.10.21 Fri

Women's Korean Wave vol.21 Definitely Neighbors (이웃집 웬수) written by Yeong-ae Yamashita(You can read Part 1 here.)The protagonist is Yun Jiyeong (actor: Yu Hojeong). Jiyeong, a housewife, and her husband Kim Seongjae (Son Hyeonju) lose their son in a traffic accident while they are quarreling. Shocked by the loss, the couple gets divorced. She soon gets a part-time job at a restaurant, where she meets its owner and chef, Chang Geonhui (Sin Seongro

Labels: Other

Women's Korean Wave vol.21 Definitely Neighbors (Part 1 of 2)

2011.10.20 Thu

Women's Korean Wave vol.21 Definitely Neighbors (이웃집 웬수) written by Yeong-ae YamashitaDefinitely Neighbors is a Korean drama series which sheds light on a divorced couple facing various events and going through complicated feelings with a light touch. SBS aired it on weekends in 2010. The number of episodes is 65.Korean dramas in general relate divorce with "adultery" or "revenge" but you will never see either of them in this drama. Rather, it ch

Labels: Other

Kusama’s Body Festival in 60s

2011.10.10 Mon

An art exhibit named Kusama’s Body Festival in 60’s, which features the artist Yayoi Kusama's works in that decade, is being held in Tokyo. o August 6, 2011 (Sat.) – November 27, 2011 (Sun.)o The Watari Museum of Contemporary Arto 3-7-6 Jingumae, Shibuya-ku, Tokyoo Tel: 03-3402-3001The exhibit website: http://www.watarium.co.jp/exhibition/1108kusama/index.html (in Japanese only)The artist's official website has an extensive Englis

Labels: Art (A-WAN)

A View on the Two Female Members in the Noda Cabinet

2011.09.21 Wed

Since the historic political shift from the Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) to Democratic Party of Japan (DPJ) in 2009, Japanese politics has seen three prime ministers and thus three sets of Cabinet members. On September 2, 2011, the newly appointed Prime Minister Yoshihiko Noda formed a Cabinet, which includes two female members: Yoko Komiyama, the Minister of Health, Labor and Welfare, and Renho, State Minister in Charge of Government Revitaliz

Labels: Other

Support Center for the Victims of Sexual Violence in Osaka

2011.09.19 Mon

The Sexual Assault Crisis Healing Intervention Center Osaka (SACHICO) is the first one-stop center in Japan to provide 24-hour care and support for victims of sexual violence. Care-workers, police, and lawyers work together to provide medical and psychological care in one location, allowing for a quick response to incidents, while minimizing the victim's physical and psychological damage. This is the summary of an interview with the representativ

Labels: Organizations

Talk by Mika Noro: For Mothers Living with Radiation - Wisdom for Protecting Children's Lives

2011.09.19 Mon

Chihiro Museum (Tokyo) will hold a talk by Mika Noro on how to protect the lives of children affected by radiation. Noro's book, "For Mothers in Radiation: Wisdom to Protect Children's Lives – from Chernobyl to Fukushima" will be published on September 24, 2011. Noro is the representative of the Bridge to Chernobyl (Cherunobuiri e no Kakehashi), an NPO created to provide aid for children affected by the Chernobyl accident. Date: October 2, 20

Labels: Event Information

CINEMA: Yoshiko & Yuriko (dir. Sachi Hamano, 2011)

2011.09.18 Sun

Sachi Hamano's latest film, Yoshiko & Yuriko, will be screened at Eurospace in Shibuya from October 22, 2011. The film is based on the true story of the relationship between two women, Yoshiko Yuasa and Yuriko Chujo (later Yuriko Miyamoto). Yuasa was a scholar and renowned translator of Russian literature, who, during the Taisho Period (1912-1924), was involved in a relationship with Chujo, an influential proletariat writer in wartime and postwa

Labels: Cinema (C-WAN) Event Information

Lecture by Chizuko Ueno in Kyoto: The Twelve Volumes of Feminism in Japan

2011.09.08 Thu

Chizuko Ueno, the director of Women’s Action Network and a professor emeritus at the University of Tokyo, will be speaking at the Nagaokakyo City Gender Equality Forum 2011 in Kyoto on January 21, 2012. The lecture is entitled “Passing the Baton” and features her experiences of coediting the twelve-volume feminist anthology, Feminism in Japan. The original series was published by Iwanami Shoten in 1994 and an augmented edition was completed in 20

Labels: Event Information

H-WAN: Help available at Women’s Action Network

2011.09.08 Thu

Women’s Action Network has finally launched its on-line consultation venue, H-WAN. Its first help project is “Kiyomi’s Counseling Room” led by Kiyomi Kawano, a renowned feminist counselor in Japan. Kiyomi Kawano has worked as a counselor at psychiatric institutions and family service centers in Japan and America. She was the first to bring “feminist counseling” to Japan in the 1970s and the founder of a feminist therapy group “Nakama” in the 198

Labels: REACH OUT (H-WAN)

Open the Door! Kansai Queer Film Festival 2011

2011.08.31 Wed

The annual Kansai Queer Film Festival for 2011 is going to be held on September 17-19 at Hephall in Osaka and on October 21-23 at the University of Kyoto’s Nishibe Hall in Kyoto. This is the largest film festival in the Kansai region of western Japan, and aims to be a site for encountering the multiplicity of sexuality and love worldwide. The Kansai Film Festival is renowned for its diversity, and this year again the featured films encompass gay,

Labels: Event Information

ART: The Donation of Vegetable for the Pregnant Woman in Fukushima

2011.08.12 Fri

Mikako Tomotari, a sculptor in Kyushu, began a project, "The Donation of Vegetables for Pregnant Women in Fukushima." This sustainable project for disaster relief is designed to deliver fresh vegetables to pregnant women in the areas affected by the Fukushima Nuclear Power Plants. It is a system in which people purchase "donation cards" to donate money for purchasing and delivering fresh vegetables from Kyushu, which pregnant women in Fukushima c

Labels: Art (A-WAN)

What's New - August 12, 2011

2011.08.12 Fri

[Aug 11, 2011] BOOK: Challenging Ueno Chizuko, edited by Senda Yuki Eng J [Aug 9, 2011] Issues on Nuclear Power Plants (11): Fukushima, seen by a documentary filmmaker (a notification of an event at the Chihiro Museum) J[Aug 9, 2011] Asuka's Childcare Leave Diary (5): A new world J

Labels: What's New