More than half of women in local assemblies across Japan have either experienced harassment themselves or had family members who did, a recent government study found, highlighting how male-dominated political circles can make women more vulnerable.
A Cabinet Office survey released June 6 found that 53.8 percent of assemblywomen reported experiencing harassment, ranging from humiliation to physical encounters, more than twice the 23.6 percent of assemblymen who said the same.
While the share of assemblywomen has been rising, they made up just 14.6 percent of prefectural assemblies and 19.5 percent of city councils, with 21.2 percent of town and village assemblies having no female members as of December 2024, according to the Cabinet Office.
In a multiple-response question asking assemblywomen to identify their harassers, 65.7 percent selected "other candidates, their supporters, or fellow assembly members," followed by 64.0 percent who cited "voters," according to the study.
Of the types of harassment experienced, "degrading attitudes or remarks stemming from unconscious gender bias," "physical encounters or stalking, including touching and hugging," and "sexual comments" were reported at higher rates by women than men.
Unconscious bias, including traditional gender expectations like "women should take care of chores and children," is cited as a barrier to greater female participation in politics.
The survey, conducted from November to December last year, targeted local assembly members nationwide, receiving responses from 3,859 men, 1,213 women, and three who did not cite their gender.
© KYODO
10 Comments
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sakurasuki
Here's the fact, around 85% are men, only 15% are women. Average age are 55 year-old.
If someone said old men club, they have the reason for that.
https://data.ipu.org/parliament/JP/JP-LC01/
Lancet
And how many men experienced it?
Why not publish the percentage of all assembly members who experienced harassment? Why separate people into categories?
Peter Neil
Politics is a nasty business. That doesn’t mean men should be harassing colleagues with sexual comments.
WhatsAllThisThen
Japan has a Bully Culture. Might-makes-right backward feudal society.
masugomi
Point out the other half. I’ll make sure they all feel included.
sakurasuki
@WhatsAllThisThen
Not only that, Japan also maintain old boys club.
borscht
Lancet,
Unfortunately, you have to read the (short) article, not just the headline.
From paragraph 2: more than twice the 23.6 percent of assemblymen who said the same.
And people are separated into two categories because one is the attacker and the other is the victim. It would, however, be interesting to see how many men say they are harassed by assemblywomen.
masugomi
Let’s assume a group of 200 assembly members, with about 34 women and 166 men, based on the representation figures in the article. If 54% of women and 24% of men report experiencing harassment, that comes to approximately 18 women and 40 men. This clearly indicates that more men report being harassed overall.
That said, as the study provides no data on the gender of the harassers, we cannot determine which gender is primarily responsible for the harassment, nor assess the prevalence of same-gender versus cross-gender incidents.
In any case, it comes down to these questions: Are we protecting groups or individuals? Are we punishing groups or individuals? These distinctions matter when interpreting data and shaping policies around accountability and support.
Newgirlintown
And how many men experienced it?
Not exactly a knock down argument that one, is it?
Jonathan Prin
Unconscious bias, including traditional gender expectations like "women should take care of chores and children,"..
This is not at all a bias if in a couple man work and woman stays at home. It is a couple decision, no one else is forcing ladies to stay home like in some countries.
Promoting something as a bias does not make it a bias if it is a natural reality.
Government wants more people at work to pay taxes, whatever is good or not for any individual.