Latest news with #AyakaYoshida
Yahoo
03-04-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Japanese politician receives over 8,000 death threats after proposing free sanitary products in toilets
A Japanese politician says she received more than 8,000 death threats after proposing free sanitary pads in public toilets. Ayaka Yoshida, a 27-year-old member of the Japanese Communist Party, posted on X on 25 March that she had "suddenly got my period today and it was a problem". She added: "Unfortunately, there were no napkins in the bathroom at Tsu City Hall when I stopped by. "I couldn't deal with it properly until I got home. Even at 27 years old, this happens. "I want sanitary napkins to be available everywhere, like toilet paper." Ms Yoshida, who is a member of the prefectural assembly in Mie in central Japan, added in a separate post the same day: "I recall that when a question was asked at the city council about installing them at city hall as well, the city authorities were reluctant". The Mie prefectural assembly later received more than 8,000 death threat emails directed at Ms Yoshida from Friday 28 March, the South China Morning Post reports. All the emails came from one address and carried an identical message, according to the Mainichi newspaper in Japan. It reportedly read: "I will kill assembly member Ayaka Yoshida, who does not bring emergency napkins with her while being old enough to know better!" Ms Yoshida shared a post on X on 31 March saying she had received more than 8,000 deaths and added: "I felt scared". Read more from Sky News: The politician reportedly told a news conference that the threats had "the effect of intimidating me and suppressing my activities as a prefectural assembly member". Ms Yoshida is also said to have confirmed that she had filed a complaint with police and an investigation is under way. Chisato Kitanaka, an associate professor of sociology at Hiroshima University and an adviser in the university's harassment consultation office, has told This Week in Asia that abusive messages targeting women who speak out are becoming more common in Japan. She said: "We are seeing similar things happening time and time again. "Any time that a statement is made or a proposal is written by a female politician, they are almost always attacked." Ms Kitanaka added that topics that have sparked a backlash online include support for working mothers, women's health, shortages of places at nurseries, sexual violence in Japanese society and domestic violence.
Sky News
03-04-2025
- Politics
- Sky News
Japanese politician receives over 8,000 death threats after proposing free sanitary products in toilets
A Japanese politician says she received more than 8,000 death threats after proposing free sanitary pads in public toilets. Ayaka Yoshida, a 27-year-old member of the Japanese Communist Party, posted on X on 25 March that she had "suddenly got my period today and it was a problem". She added: "Unfortunately, there were no napkins in the bathroom at Tsu City Hall when I stopped by. "I couldn't deal with it properly until I got home. Even at 27 years old, this happens. "I want sanitary napkins to be available everywhere, like toilet paper." Ms Yoshida, who is a member of the prefectural assembly in Mie in central Japan, added in a separate post the same day: "I recall that when a question was asked at the city council about installing them at city hall as well, the city authorities were reluctant". The Mie prefectural assembly later received more than 8,000 death threat emails directed at Ms Yoshida from Friday 28 March, the South China Morning Post reports. All the emails came from one address and carried an identical message, according to the Mainichi newspaper in Japan. It reportedly read: "I will kill assembly member Ayaka Yoshida, who does not bring emergency napkins with her while being old enough to know better!" Ms Yoshida shared a post on X on 31 March saying she had received more than 8,000 deaths and added: "I felt scared". The politician reportedly told a news conference that the threats had "the effect of intimidating me and suppressing my activities as a prefectural assembly member". Ms Yoshida is also said to have confirmed that she had filed a complaint with police and an investigation is under way. Chisato Kitanaka, an associate professor of sociology at Hiroshima University and an adviser in the university's harassment consultation office, has told This Week in Asia that abusive messages targeting women who speak out are becoming more common in Japan. She said: "We are seeing similar things happening time and time again. "Any time that a statement is made or a proposal is written by a female politician, they are almost always attacked." Ms Kitanaka added that topics that have sparked a backlash online include support for working mothers, women's health, shortages of places at nurseries, sexual violence in Japanese society and domestic violence.
South China Morning Post
03-04-2025
- Politics
- South China Morning Post
Japanese assemblywoman gets 8,000 death threats over call for sanitary pads in public toilets
A female Japanese politician has received about 8,000 emails containing death threats after proposing free sanitary pads in public toilets – a wave of online abuse that experts say reflects a deeper pattern of gender-based harassment aiming to silence outspoken women. Advertisement Ayaka Yoshida, a 27-year-old member of the Mie prefectural assembly and the Japanese Communist Party, sparked the backlash after posting on social media on March 25: 'Like toilet paper, I want sanitary pads to be provided everywhere.' The message quickly provoked angry responses, with one message sent to the secretariat of the Mie assembly stating, 'At her age, she should know to carry emergency sanitary napkins.' The responses soon became more threatening, however, with the assembly receiving nearly 8,000 emails – about one a minute for nearly four days from 8pm on March 28. All the emails came from the same address and carried an identical message: 'I will kill assembly member Ayaka Yoshida, who does not bring emergency napkins with her while being old enough to know better!' the Mainichi newspaper reported. Ayaka Yoshida, a 27-year-old member of the Mie prefectural assembly and the Japanese Communist Party. Photo: X/@ayaka_yoshi_da3 Speaking at a press conference on Monday, Yoshida said the threats had 'the effect of intimidating me and suppressing my activities as a prefectural assembly member'. She also confirmed that she had filed an official complaint with local police and that an investigation was under way.
The Independent
02-04-2025
- Politics
- The Independent
Japanese politician gets death threats over call for menstrual products in public restrooms
A Japanese politician has received nearly 8,000 emails of death threats after she called for menstrual products to be made available in public restrooms. Ayaka Yoshida, 27, a local assembly member in central Mie prefecture, filed a police complaint on Monday about the death threats she had received over the weekend. The threats came after she shared her experience of not finding sanitary napkins at a prominent city hall on social media last Tuesday. 'I was caught off guard by my period and was in trouble as there were no sanitary napkins in the restroom at Tsu City Hall. I hope menstrual pads can be provided like toilet paper,' Ms Yoshida posted on X. The emails threatening the life of Ms Yoshida, who is a member of the Japanese Communist Party, were sent between 8pm local time on Friday and 3.50pm on Monday, at roughly one-minute intervals, reported Kyodo News. The thousands of emails were all sent from the same email address, it added. One of the threatening emails was titled, "I will kill assembly member Ayaka Yoshida who doesn't bring emergency napkins with her while being old enough to know better!" Japanese daily The Mainichi reported. The text of the email also referred to her murder. Another email sent to the young lawmaker mocked her saying: 'At her age, she should know how to carry emergency sanitary napkins.' Speaking at a press conference on Monday, the lawmaker said such emails carried the 'effect of intimidating me and suppressing my activities as a prefectural assembly member'. 'I'm very scared. I have been engaging in my duties to fulfil my responsibility as a prefectural assembly member, and these emails intimidate me. I hope the police will conduct a thorough investigation,' she said. About 44 per cent of women in Japan do not take any time off during their period even when they are in serious pain, according to a survey by Tokyo consulting firm Deloitte Tohmatsu Group. At least 5,000 people participated in the survey that was conducted in 10 countries from October 2022 to January 2023.
