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Has preferential treatment for women gone too far in Japan?

43 Comments

From women-only seats in libraries to female-only university cafes, it would seem that women get a lot of preferential treatment in Japan. Whether it be a restaurant with “ladies’ courses” on the menu or cinemas offering “ladies’ day” discounts, it is difficult to ignore the abundance of cheap deals or special services on offer to women. On the one hand, it all serves to help the struggling Japanese economy, but a lot of men can’t help but feel that they’re being a little discriminated against.

One man online comments on how the exclusive women-only seating system in some public libraries can be a real inconvenience: “It began to rain quite hard so I thought I’d seek refuge in my local library. Everyone had the same idea, so the inside was quite crowded. Just when I thought I’d found a seat, I was told by the librarian that it was for women only. As a result, I was made to stand for a good half hour. I’m really not satisfied with the situation.” (Office worker, 34)

In Taito City Library in Tokyo, there is a place to relax and read the latest daily newspapers. However, of the 50 seats available, 10 of them are reserved for women only. Hoping to shed some light on the situation, the manager of the library commented, “Many of our female customers complained that the men were taking all the seats or that even if a seat were available, the gaze from the men was off-putting.“

It doesn’t stop here. At one co-ed university in Saitama Prefecture, there’s also a female-exclusive cafe. The first floor can be used by either sex, however the second is strictly for female patrons only.

“The second floor isn’t only a cafe but also kind of like a makeup room. There are three full-length mirrors as well five mirrors located on the counters. Compared to the first floor, it is far more luxurious,” commented a member of the public relations department for the same university.

The university asserts that it is entirely co-educational, but the recent introduction of a human society department and courses has resulted in a sudden and welcome increase in the number of female students.

“We wanted to create a space where women can relax. Providing such facilities also provides an incentive for female students to enroll in the university,” comments the same department.

Well, if that’s the case, are there male-only areas as well? According to lawyer Yukata Iwaki, there could be a constitutional problem in giving favor to one sex over another.

“Creating women-only areas actually carries a high risk of breaching the laws of equality," he says. "Installing a male-only area would offset this but it really is best to think carefully when it comes to gender exclusivity and public places."

Japan’s train service is well known for its women-only carriages, where during the morning rush hour only women are allowed on board. The introduction of such measures is proven to be effective in combating sexual harassment or molestation, however some men can’t help but find it to be inconvenient and, to be honest, a little unfair that they should be bunched in with the small percentage of males who can’t keep their hands to themselves.

What do you think about this rather delicate issue? Should men-only spaces also be installed to make the things entirely equal?

Source: News Post Seven

Read more stories from RocketNews24. -- ‘Women Only’ Train Cars: Is it a Crime for Men to Ride? -- Top 15 Libraries to Visit Before You Die -- Sip Coffee With Customers From Over 100 Countries at Sakura Cafe in Ikebukuro

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43 Comments
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It is too bad that most men have to suffer because of a few but hey, gross is gross and molestation is gross not to mention illegal. That being said, it is too bad that the women here are so docile when it comes to this kind of crap. My feeling is if they spoke up there would be little need for women-only cars. As for setting up men-only places - go for it if that is what you want.

3 ( +6 / -3 )

I agree sillygirl

My feeling is if they spoke up

or fought back

0 ( +4 / -4 )

Well, if that’s the case, are there male-only areas as well?

No one would use them.

Men usually like to go where women are. The reverse is not always true.

1 ( +3 / -2 )

The reason for this is the elite. Worldwide there is a feminisation of men to make them act in a less aggressive and confrontational manner. This is to control and subdue the masses. This may seem far fetched but is in fact the truth, The reason Japan can go so far with women only places is the lack of strong equality laws.There should not be any places that are men or women only except for places like bath and changing rooms. The idea is to make males feel that they are bad from a young age and make them weak. Children will notice things like women only train carriages and understand that this is due to men being bad and women victims. The idea is to make men into behaving like women and worldwide this is a success. There is all this new man, new age nonsense to encourage men to be "sensitive" and "caring" ie to change how all men act in the end.

When men are subdued and afraid to confront due to this pressure governments, good or bad will never fear a revolution and can do almost as they wish, it is all learned behaviour.

There are women who are saying they don't want to sit next to a man or have them staring at them as is mentioned in this article, i suggest becoming a nun or staying indoors.

3 ( +11 / -8 )

False flag, you talk nonsense. Aggressive men have been so beneficial to society after all.

The rest of this "there should be men areas" and "preferential treatment of women gone too far" is nonsense. Women are forced out of their jobs or forced to become part time the moment they have kids and sometimes the moment they get married. None of you are crying for equality for work or pay, so let women have their own car and makeup cafe.

-1 ( +8 / -9 )

No. the seperate cars and areas in buildings are because some local men can't control their pervy impulses.

3 ( +6 / -3 )

It's so unfair. How come the women in the office always get to make the tea when visitors arrive?

12 ( +13 / -1 )

I don't think that "a lot of men" are complaining, just a minority of them. However I think that having women-only seats in libraries and such is pretty weird.

Anyhow this so-called "preferential treatment" is pretty shallow and not very meaningful. Who cares if you get some discounts... if you are still getting paid less than the male counterparts?

4 ( +7 / -3 )

Yeah, preferential treatment of women has gone too far.

They get to quit a promising career when they marry. They pay less in taxes because they get less pay than men doing the same work. They don't have to worry about getting promoted over less qualified men. They are 'expected' to take care of the kids they are 'expected' to have immediately after marriage while the husband is forced to go to work everyday with no responsibilities for raising their own offspring. Why, there are even universities exclusively for women!

And most of those places mentioned in this article (library seats, train cars, cafes) were created because women molest men, ogle men, and try to take pictures of their underwear all the time.

/sarcasm

10 ( +13 / -3 )

Men should start going on the women only trains and sit in the women only seats at the library. When it is pointed out that these are for women only, the men should ask the staff to contact their lawyers. Isn't it terrible when you are running late to work, you think that you have made it to the train only to find that it is for women only. Personally, I get on no matter what the staff or others say. If they have a problem, arrest me. I will win in court.

-3 ( +3 / -6 )

Yes.

It is sickening.

-2 ( +5 / -7 )

Thanks to such public figures as police, teachers, doctors, etc, who are often caught sexually abusing women (touching, upskirt pics, etc) then I believe NO, it hasn't gone too far. Justly punish those types of offenders to fully deter them and then maybe women of Japan can start to feel a little safer.

2 ( +4 / -2 )

@NetteMarie; The nonsense is how you interpret my post. I never said men should be overly aggressive but are feminised. I suggest reading about the feminisation of men and why the elite are making that happen before rubbishing me.

cl400; An tint amount of men carry out attacks on women the same as a tiny amount of women carry out attacks on men, which is an under reported crime in all countries. You have fallen into the trap that you were meant to, ie half the population is discriminated against due to a tiny amount of crimes.

0 ( +5 / -5 )

This is what happen when beta males rule the world. Putting ALL women up on some kind of pedestal on a massive scale.

1 ( +4 / -3 )

In Taito City Library in Tokyo, there is a place to relax and read the latest daily newspapers. However, of the 50 seats available, 10 of them are reserved for women only. Hoping to shed some light on the situation, the manager of the library commented,

The trains, I can sort of understand. Even though it's because of a small percentage of loser perverts. The library thing is stupid.

“Many of our female customers complained that the men were taking all the seats

SO??????? First come first served. Whiny women like this shouldn't bother going outside if they're going to complain about everything.

or that even if a seat were available, the gaze from the men was off-putting.“

Boo hoo. Wear a burka or something if you don't like people looking at you.

2 ( +9 / -7 )

Simple women in Japan hold the purse strings, so they get the deals

-2 ( +2 / -4 )

If you get seats because of people staring at you then I think Gaijin should also get a good seat allocation. I don't like the gazing either but I put up with it and don't expect 10 seats just for me and my friends.

4 ( +9 / -5 )

Yes, it has gone too far!! Why should women get preferential seating simply because men regularly sexually harass them? Shouldn't they just grin and bear it? It isn't enough that Japanese men get 95% of managerial, executive, and government positions, they deserve an equal number of train cars and library seats, too!

6 ( +7 / -1 )

falseflagsteve, I agree. You can gauge the weakness and decadence of a culture or society by the degree to which it imposes on its male stereotypes traits that it had formerly associated with femininity. Note that the current stereotype of the Russian males is masculine and strong. They do not pluck eyebrows and fuss with hair products in front of the mirror in public bathrooms. If they display their bare breasts and nipples--such as Putin riding that horse--it's done as a signal of masculinity--or if to smash in someone's face, as a sign of aggression and dominance. Compare that to the gym-shaped bare breasts of long-haired male models in fashion and lifestyle poses in Europe, Japan and the US. Also consider whatever is the "attractive" role model for young men in the society. Is it a singing, dancing boylike man with makeup and stylists, like Bieber or Johnny's Jimusho? Or is it something else?

Mumbairocks, fair enough, but plenty of Japanese women also exhibit terrible, uncivil manners in public and on trains. If I had 100 yen for every elbow some tanklike, hostile obatarian had scythed into my kidneys, I would be well on my way to getting a Retina iPad Mini whenever they finally come out.

-2 ( +3 / -5 )

I think it's funny how guys are complaining I am a guy but not Japanese but my wife is and after seeing women getting treated like dirt for so long now that the shoe is on the other foot guys want to cry when it's their fault in the first place for the change in society.

4 ( +5 / -1 )

women treated like dirt in Jpan? Never seen it. Who controls the house? its the obaasan, and noisy housewives.

-7 ( +2 / -9 )

@falseflagsteve

Your first post resumed the whole thing perfectly.100%, 満点! I wish I could thumb you up a zillion times.

-6 ( +1 / -7 )

Only today we have another story of an upskirt pervert, so I think there should be more places where the women are safe from these creeps. Every day on JT you see stories of women being targeted by some perv or other, so I'm all in favour of places where the risk of some phone-cam or pen-cam creep humiliating women is minimal.

From what I've seen on my times in Japan is that women are treated pretty badly, and I've seen it in practice... some creep tried to cop a feel of a young OL on a train, so I accidentally stepped on his toes... and I'm a big bloke, lol. This shouldn't be happening, and Japanese women shouldn't need to be protected from perverts, but they do... so yes, areas where women can be safe from pervs are something I'm in favour of.

5 ( +6 / -1 )

I agree, it's bullshit, between club entry fees, ladies only cars, even in my dorm, the ladies shower room had a lock and boys didn't. Even in convenience stores, there's a girl only toilet, and a mixed toilet. Wtf?! Girls poo isn't as stinky? 理解できない。absolute rubbish. Teach women to respect themselves a bit more, and Japanese men won't be as rubbish.

-4 ( +4 / -8 )

The trains I can understand – it’s only at peak times and there’s a good reason for it. However, the problem now is that a precedent has been set – a woman at the library complains about not being able to sit down (um, hard luck?) and adds a spin about being stared at by a man and the train situation makes it acceptable to do the same in the library. It then escalates to woman having entire areas unnecessarily made exclusive to them – a whole café? Is that really necessary? I wonder if the same women who advocate that are the same women who complain about not being able to find a husband.

This also wouldn’t be allowed in the UK (or anyhere in the EU I believe) due to sexual discrimination laws. Several men-only clubs have been forced to allow women to join or face prosecution, even if they’ve been that way for a hundred years.

I feel gender segregation in this way is not helpful, better to deal with the root cause:

Perverts on the train – increased security on trains Lack of seats - more chairs Men staring at you – tell them to stop staring at you

-2 ( +3 / -5 )

It has not gone too far. It's for their protection. You have no idea how hard it is there to admit that you've been felt up or something and the embarrassment of everybody knowing. I should know, I've been abused. There is a shame that isn't yours that follows you around. That is why they are doing this.

5 ( +6 / -1 )

There are too many women Prime Minister and CEO of big companies. That's why... There are places where Japanese men are protected from pervs too. Like the sumo arena, snacks, soaplands.

-2 ( +0 / -2 )

@ Chantelle; If you are a victim of a crime, report to the police. It is discrimination for all men to be treated as potential offenders due to a tiny amount of males committing offences. It is far harder for a man to admit to any assault whether sexual or violent if by a woman, but we don't hear about that as it does not fit into the globalist, feminist a gender.

0 ( +5 / -5 )

@falseflagsteve: I was raped way back when I was seven years old until now, and then again last year. My reporting of a crime is done, and you know what? One of them never went to jail. And of course it wouldn't be okay to discriminate, but this that they're doing isn't for discrimination. It's not to say "Ahahaha no men allowed" it's to say "This is to protect the women from being molested by men." Because it happens there and right now, this is just one way of "stopping" it. The women feel safe there, and being safe isn't against the law. I know how hard it is to admit it for a guy, I have a brother who went through it with me. Everybody is different though so the difficulty level is different depending on the person, not the gender.

1 ( +2 / -1 )

The point is that this is a social problem that requires a better solution than separating the genders in certain places. This will just make the desperate perverts more desperate and forment hostility from people who are being inconvenienced.

-2 ( +2 / -4 )

What's worse: women being humiliated or worse, or men being mildly inconvenienced in a library? As a man I would prefer that the women were safe over whether or not I can get out of the rain. I won't melt.

2 ( +4 / -2 )

Ok, and what happens when they leave the library and the pervert follows them home?

How far will it go before someone decides to tackle the real problem of why there are so many perverts around getting away with abusing women? It’s a typically short-sighted ‘solution’ to a bigger problem.

1 ( +3 / -2 )

Maybe its because Japanese women spend more money and time on things like travel, shopping, lunches, cafes, leisure, going to school, etc than men do , and this leads to businesses wanting to make it friendly for women to patronize their establishments ?

I as a business owner, I would cater to women as long as the increase in female customers outweighs the loss of the male customers

If men are not going to group up and voice their opinions (like women do) , then the men will have no power to change anything.

Most men will just opt out of patronizing that establishment, than rather openly voice their opinions.

3 ( +3 / -0 )

borscht already said pretty much everything. Excellent post.

Sure women get preferential treatment in plenty of superficial and often pointless ways, but in the things that really matter - Japanese society still treats them as subservient to men.

0 ( +1 / -1 )

How come the women in the office always get to make the tea when visitors arrive?

Not true, the tea is usually made by a lady hired into such a job. If she does not like it she can always leave, there are 5 others waiting for the place. I doubt any good company would use a female with higher skills (engineer, manager, for example) for such a job.

-2 ( +1 / -3 )

Ebisen: "Not true, the tea is usually made by a lady hired into such a job. If she does not like it she can always leave, there are 5 others waiting for the place. I doubt any good company would use a female with higher skills (engineer, manager, for example) for such a job."

As usual, you miss the point. It's not a man hired for the job, is it?

-1 ( +3 / -4 )

It's not a man hired for the job, is it

Unfortunately not.. I'm sure there are many jobless men out there who would like to do it though. They are not given any chance, though, and must stay jobless and hungry.

0 ( +2 / -2 )

The whole 'women only' thing is ridiculous, quite frankly, from women only train cars to the even more ludicrous library spaces. If you really think this is not so then ask yourself why women should be treated equally and society not be a club 'for men only'.

The women only train cars make sense on a very, very superficial basis but are actually counter to their purpose as they justify the problem they purport to prevent. What's the first thing a number of people, authorities included, are going to say when a woman is groped who was riding in a car that was not women only? "Why weren't you in the women only car?" I have at least two friends who were groped during the rush hour commute and were asked that by police when they tried to report it (other friends didn't bother trying to report it). What's more when a number of women who ride the women only cars were interviewed they were upset about the 'lax manners' of women in said cars, who would eat food and do make-up, etc. In other words, why not make separate cars for "women-who-don't-want-to-see-others-doing-make-up-on-the-train" cars?

Yes, it's gone way too far in Japan, and does not seriously address the problems. It's not even a band-aid on a bullet hole, but a so-called band-aid where there is no wound. What does "ladies' day" at the movie theatre accomplish? What happens when other women stare at the people who don't like to be looked at in libraries? What would the reaction be to a "white's only" space if white people complained about being stared at, just for comparison?

-4 ( +0 / -4 )

With only a small handful of women in parliament, upper management and even middle-management in business, I'd say preferential treatment and women's position in general still have a loooong way to go in Japan.

-1 ( +0 / -1 )

What's next? "JAPANESE ONLY TRAINS?"

-1 ( +0 / -1 )

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