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.

Online counseling in English by Kiyomi Kawano ー "My husband criticizes my housework and I'm sick

2018.06.18 Mon

I have a problem with my husband. We have been married for seven years. Since we first met, he has decided on every issue and I’ve felt quite uncomfortable about his behavior. After a while, he began to criticize my house chores and has tried to scold me after/when I couldn’t finish the 50 house chore items made by him. I was frightened. Some weekends, he “preaches” me all night. Finally I became sick which made me leave my part-time job. The con

Labels: Online Counseling

Movie Review: 'I AM NOT YOUR NEGRO' by Kiyomi Kawano

2018.06.12 Tue

James Baldwin（1924－1987）― what a nostalgic name! This name gives me pain because I remember the time when I read his novel Giovanni’s Room as a young girl. I am not your negro is based upon Baldwin’s uncompleted book Remember this House, which he started writing in 1979. The director Raul Peck traced Baldwin’ activities by collecting all kinds of data about him ― interviews, essays, lectures, TV talks ― and made this documentary film in 2016. R

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Demonstration against Finance Minister Taro ASO’s Remarks on Sexual Harassment

2018.05.31 Thu

Report by Yayo OKANO 2018.05.08 Tue On May 7, about 80 female and male protesters gathered in Kyoto to raise their voice against the remarks by Taro ASO, the Japanese Finance Minister, on sexual harassment. Mr. Aso said "There's no such thing as 'sexual harassment charge' in Japan” when asked about public criticism against a case of sexual harassment allegedly committed by the ministry's top bureaucrat. The minister's comment drew harsh criticis

Labels: Other

Lamentable Level of Women's Issues Awareness in Japan: (3) and (4)

2018.05.12 Sat

(1) Can the Prime Minister speak for his wife, who is involved in the Moritomo scandal? (2) Can the Finance Minister decide that his vice minister's sexual harassment is not serious enough to be punished? (3) Is the sumo-ring so sacred traditionally that it should be cleansed of women? (4) Can't marriage be based only on the mutual consent of both sexes in the case of Princess Mako?(3) Sumo is a Japanese one-on-one fighting sport, usually known a

Labels: W-WAN's Original Articles

‘Toward a Comparative History of War and Sexual Violence’ Publication Commemoration Symposium

2018.05.06 Sun

‘Toward a Comparative History of War and Sexual Violence’Edited by Ueno Chizuko, Araragi Shinzo, and Hirai Kazuko ‘Toward a Comparative History of War and Sexual Violence’ (published February 2018 by Iwanami Shoten) Program Date and time: 2018/05/13 (Sunday) 13:00 - 18:00 Hosts: Araragi Shinzo and Sato Fumika 13:00 Greeting by the representative editor Ueno Chizuko 13:10 Part 1 Comments: How to read ‘Toward a Comparative History of War and S

Labels: Event Information

Lamentable Level of Women's Issues Awareness in Japan: (2) Can the Finance Minister decide that his vice minister's sexual harassment is not serious enough to be punished?

2018.04.25 Wed

Lamentable Level of Awareness of Women's Issues in Japan: (1) Can the Prime Minister speak for his wife, who is involved in the Moritomo scandal? (2) Can the Finance Minister decide that his vice minister's sexual harassment is not serious enough to be punished? (3) Is the sumo-ring so sacred traditionally that it should be cleansed of women? (4) Can't marriage be based only on the mutual consent of both sexes in the case of Princess Mako? (2)

Labels: W-WAN's Original Articles

Lamentable Level of Women's Issues Awareness in Japan: (1) Can the Prime Minister speak for his wife, who is involved in the Moritomo scandal?

2018.04.19 Thu

Lamentable Level of Women's Issues Awareness in Japan: (1) Can the Prime Minister speak for his wife, who is involved in the Moritomo scandal? (2) Can the Finance Minister decide that his vice minister's sexual harassment is not serious enough to be punished? (3) Is the sumo-ring so sacred traditionally that it should be cleansed of women? (4) Can't marriage be based only on the mutual consent of both sexes in the case of Princess Mako?(1) Can th

Labels: W-WAN's Original Articles

Labrys, etudes féministes/ estudos feministas number 31 is now online

2018.03.29 Thu

NEW / NOUVEAU / NOVO Labrys, etudes féministes/ estudos feministas number 31 is now online: www.labrys.net.br. Labrys, études féministes/ estudos feministas, numéro 31 en ligne: www.labrys.net.br Labrys, études féministes/ estudos feministas, número 31 já está online: www.labrys.net.br ENJOY IT! Bonne Lecture / Boa leitura! Tania navarro swain, PhD -Editor/éditeure/editora email: anahita@labrys.net.br

Labels: What's New

“Girls, too?” Why “too?”

2018.03.16 Fri

By Orie Endo This article was in The Asahi Shimbun newspaper, February 22nd, on page 7 of the Tokyo edition. The headline reads: College Enrollment Will Drop by 120 Thousand by 2040. The Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology (MEXT) has announced that, although college enrollment rates will grow by 2040, the number of students is projected to decline by 20% because the entire 18-year-old population will shrink. The

Labels: Essays

Photos from Women's March Tokyo 2018

Japanese

2018.03.11 Sun

Here are some photos from Women's March Tokyo, held on International Women's Day on March 8th. Mari Nagano, who is leading the volunteer staff team of WAN's Ueno Seminar, joined the event for the first time and took many photos.

Labels: Organizations

Online English Counseling -- "I feel my son is taken by his wife's family"

2018.03.01 Thu

QUESTION FROM READER・・・・・　　I am a housewife in my 50s and have a son and a daughter who are already married with their own children. Recently I have been feeling uncomfortable because my son seems to be taken by his wife’s family. My son with children visit me only in summer vacations and New Year Days. He goes abroad often for business. During that time, his wife returns to her parents’ home. The wife has a married sister living nearby. It lo

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Women’s March Tokyo is held on International Women’s Day (March 8th)

Japanese

2018.02.28 Wed

(March 8th) Women's March Tokyo 2018 [Reprint] http://jp.ajwrc.org/2928 "Women's March Tokyo" will be held on International Women's Day on March 8th, 2018! Let’s all walk together in the city of Tokyo! About one year ago, as Mr. Donald Trump became President of the United States. His disrespect for women has aroused criticism, and many women around the world have stood up saying, “we can’t stay silent.” These women raising their voices care

Labels: Event Information Organizations

New Year Message from WAN’s Director Chizuko Ueno

2018.01.24 Wed

Happy New Year! As usual, I’m wearing Japanese kimono for the annual New Year cosplay. Last year, we held a general meeting in Sapporo, Hokkaido. Its theme was “Making Society Starting from Private Things.” The idea to hold this symposium started from It’s Time to Talk about Social Activism, a book written and edited by Ms. Yuko Tanaka, president of Hosei University. The symposium discussed how we take the first step, instead of just complainin

Labels: Commemoration

Fairy Tale and Sexual Violence --- Prince’s Kiss Is Quasi-Sexual Assault! by Kazue Muta

Japanese

2017.12.31 Sun

In December, 2017, a man was arrested on a charge of quasi-sexual assault, for kissing a sleeping woman on the train in Osaka. Yes, many of us have an experiece of falling asleep on the train. If a stranger kissed you while you were sleeping? It would be such an indecent and disgusting act. This incident reminded me of the fairy tales of a sleeping beauty such as Snow White or Little Briar Rose, who awakened by the kiss of a prince. So I tweeted

Labels: Essays

Chizuko Ueno Lecture Presentation "The Future Path of Women's Lives - Neoliberal Reform and Gender -"

2017.12.19 Tue

　On Saturday, July 22, 2017, a lecture presentation by Chizuko Ueno was held in the city of Niigata, entitled “The Future Path of Women’s Lives – Neoliberal Reform and Gender –“. This was held commemorating the 70th anniversary of the Niigata Branch of the Japanese Association of University Women (JAUW) of which I am the branch chief. JAUW, founded in Tokyo soon after the Second World War, has since worked for advancement of Japanese women stri

Labels: Event Information

Ueno Seminar Lecture Series － Harassment at Workplace and Gender

Japanese

2017.11.28 Tue

The 34th Ueno Seminar of WAN December 21, 2017 Musashino City, Tokyo, Japan Lecture Harassment at Workplace and Gender Moderator: Yuko Time & Day: 6:00 p.m.-8:00 p.m., Thursday, December 21, 2017 Venue: Meeting Room, 2nd floor, Sky Gate Tower, Musashino Towers 1 Naka-machi, Musashino City, Tokyo, Japan (2 minute walk from North Exit of Mitaka Station, JR Chuo Line) Social Program: A BYOB or a potluck party is planned to be held from 8:00 p.

Labels: Event Information Ueno Seminar

Call for Applications for ALFP 2018

2017.10.25 Wed

The Asia Leadership Fellow Program is currently welcoming applications for next year’s Asia Leadership Fellow Program (ALFP 2018). Initiated in 1996, ALFP is a joint program of the International House of Japan and the Japan Foundation that seeks to create a close, personal and professional network of public intellectuals in Asia, who share humanistic concerns about our fluid world and are dedicated to seeking out new paradigms through interactio

Labels: Event Information

Brief Report of Yamagata International Documentary Film Festival 2017

2017.10.13 Fri

“Self Portrait: Birth in 47KM” Directed by ZHANG Mengqi —Neither Paean Nor Requiem But Just an Expressive Portrait of Life Last weekend, I went to Yamagata City to see documentary films during the YIDFF, a biennial film festival. This year its program was composed of International Competition, New Asian Currents, Africa Views, Perspectives Japan, and some other screenings focusing on specific themes. I don’t remember how many times I have attende

Labels: W-WAN's Original Articles

To the World from WAGIC: A Feminist Project Originated in China

2017.10.10 Tue

Women and Gender in China (WAGIC), a new blog project, was launched in September 2017. Harriet Evans, Professor Emeritus of Chinese Cultural Studies of the University of Westminster, is one of the contributors. Evans is the founder and former director of the Contemporary China Centre in the Department of Modern languages and Cultures at the University of Westminster. For some decades, she has been well-known among Japanese scholars who study the

Labels: W-WAN's Original Articles

Film Review by Kiyomi Kawano — A Quiet Passion

2017.09.11 Mon

I was in shock. I could not even stand up from my chair after I watched this biographical film about the poet Emily Dickenson (Cynthia Nixon). During her life time, Dickenson (1830-1886) published only 10 poems, but after her death, her sister discovered as many as 1,800 of them. And of course her works have given enormous inspiration to people of later generations. She lived in reclusive isolation in her house in her small hometown of Amhe

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