politics

Female voters remain dubious despite record number of women winning seats

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Point is many women don't even try out of fear of hitting that glass ceiling which is a shame because some would do a better job than the man who is occupying the position they should be aiming for.

Maybe, maybe not. Women are just as fallible as men. They are just prone to making the same errors in judgement as men. And they can be just as corrupt and unethical as men. In some cases, even more so.

And why don't they try? What is that "fear" holding them back?  Is it because, as the feminists argue, that the electoral process is rigged and discriminates against women? (That's baloney as legislation nowadays prohibits discrimination based on gender and race.) Or are women afraid of competing with men on an equal level playing field such that they have to resort to demanding relaxation of certain standards and mandating or legislating quotas to favour them?  Or perhaps the reality is the majority of women just aren't interested or ambitious enough to go into politics and that the reason for their failure to be elected is because they failed to convince the voters (both male and female voters) that they have the better qualifications and better leadership qualities to do the job.

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Is it? Or is it the nature of the type of person able to reach those positions in the current environment? How is it you have determined it’s human nature and not just the nature of the type of person able to succeed in said environments?

The word "human nature" is gender neutral term and applies to both men and women. They share the same human characteristics....negative and positive. Some women are just as ambitious (if not more so), charismatic and pursuasive as men. They are also just as prone to making errors in judgement, corruption, immorality, unethical behavior and greed, etc.

Do you believe Indira Ghandi, Bennazir Bhutto, Golda Meir, Eva Peron, Madame Nhu, Imelda Marcos, Corazon Aquino were more effective and ethical and less corrupt as politicians than their male counterparts? While they were in power, how much difference did they really make? Did Corazon Aquino (as a female leader) stamp out corruption in Phillipine politics? Even her cabinet had its problems. Taiwan President Tsai Ing-wen can't even control her own people.

The point I'm trying to make is that gender makes no difference in politics and that women, as politicians, are no better or worse than men.

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I rather doubt it. I've observed empowered women in politics and managerial positions and they aren't any more ethical than men; they are just as susceptible to corruption and cronyism as men are, and in some cases even more ruthless. It's just human nature

Is it? Or is it the nature of the type of person able to reach those positions in the current environment? How is it you have determined it’s human nature and not just the nature of the type of person able to succeed in said environments?

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Japanese ladies are their own enemies.

They don't speak about politics, they accept low paid jobs, they still provide ocha most of the time to others (as everyone knows, it is fully NOT mentioned in contract).

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Implying that when you have more women in government things will be better for the nation and people as a whole?

Of course as long as they are the best person for the job.

Point is many women don't even try out of fear of hitting that glass ceiling which is a shame because some would do a better job than the man who is occupying the position they should be aiming for.

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Female voters remain dubious despite record number of women winning seats

Of course they remain dubious and dissatisfied.

What is the percentage of eligible female voters compared to male voters in Japan? And how many of them actually vote? If the numbers are low, why is this so? If women are so dissatisfied, why haven't they mounted an all out aggressive grass root campaign to encourage more female candidates to enter races and mandate ALL female voters to vote only for female candidates? (Male voters, of course, are welcome to vote for female candidates.)

I'm all ears if you have a practical way to overcome this prejudice that keeps women away from power.

Women can do anything they want and succeed. Women with aptitude can compete very well with men in all fields.  But feminists tell them they will always fail because society is prejudiced against them; they can’t succeed unless the government stacks the deck in their favor, with all-female quotas or relaxed standards to compete with men. 

Parents tell their children: “If at first you don’t succeed, try, try and try again.” But feminism says: “If at first you don’t succeed, give up and blame the Patriarchy.”

No wonder women give up as soon as they meet something a little challenging or is subject to criticism.

Japanese world must change but only for the better.

The more women that can break through the glass ceiling the better.

Implying that when you have more women in government things will be better for the nation and people as a whole?

I rather doubt it. I've observed empowered women in politics and managerial positions and they aren't any more ethical than men; they are just as susceptible to corruption and cronyism as men are, and in some cases even more ruthless. It's just human nature. But women often feel that they are immune from checks and balances. Any disagreement, criticism directed at them or their actions are considered by default, gender-bias prejudice and discrimination. In today's "politically-correct" world, men can't disagree or criticize without being accused of gender-prejudice and discrimination.

In a "perfect" system, the candidate (regardless of gender) best qualified to lead and has the people and nation's interest at heart as a whole (not just single interest) is elected.

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The more women that can break through the glass ceiling the better.

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Japanese world must change but only for the better.

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46-year-old Naoko Mogi, who lives in Kawasaki near Tokyo.

I'm always impressed by the ability of reporters to find someone who supports what they want to write just by stopping people on the street. They never seem to find anyone who disagrees or tells them to buzz off.

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Quotas, affirmative action, none of it is democratic or just.

I tend to agree with you here but these are not quotas implemented by law, but by the agreement of the parties to eradicate the deep-seated opposition to having female politicians.

I'm all ears if you have a practical way to overcome this prejudice that keeps women away from power.

Quotas are not democratic but nor is the status quo of discrimination.

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But the ratio of female candidates who won seats in the election was still low, considering Prime Minister Shinzo Abe's government has pledged to raise the proportion of women in leadership positions in society such as lawmakers, corporate managers and professors to 30 percent by 2020.

Quotas are not the way democracy works.

Quotas, affirmative action, none of it is democratic or just.

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Without this giving more exposure in schools and in the newspapers (constant), little progress is made. It is almost impossible to highlight labor or women’s issues in EFL textbooks much less textbooks for L1 learning of Japanese for reading or writing. The army of male editors and owners of these publishing houses and the BOE will see to THAT!

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"There is a deep-rooted belief of 'the division of labor by gender' in the society where men are considered as breadwinners and women take the roles of houseworker and caregiver," Mogi said.

Although the government upholds women's empowerment, "It would end up just being a centerpiece policy without substance, unless it faces up to the reality of nonregular workers," Mogi said. "I want companies to hire more nonregular workers as regular employees."

I admire her conviction. Everybody knows these facts, but a leopard cannot change its spots. She is talking about changing a deep-seated culture and upturning the whole structure of Japanese labor laws. Good luck with that lady! I would love to see it happen, but i have serious doubts she would be able to achieve it.

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