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.

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