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Japan Times
3 days ago
- General
- Japan Times
Miyazaki elected Wakayama governor for first time
Former Deputy Wakayama Gov. Izumi Miyazaki won Sunday's gubernatorial election in the prefecture, defeating his rival, Michiko Matsuzaka. Miyazaki, 66, was elected Wakayama governor for the first time, succeeding Shuhei Kishimoto, who died in April at the age of 68. Running as an independent candidate, Miyazaki was backed by the Liberal Democratic Party, the Constitutional Democratic Party of Japan, the Democratic Party for the People and Komeito. He garnered 250,454 votes, trouncing Matsuzaka, a 68-year-old candidate of the Japanese Communist Party, who collected 47,215 votes. Voter turnout stood at 39.86%, the same as in the previous Wakayama gubernatorial election in 2022. Miyazaki received endorsements from various organizations as well as ruling and opposition parties. During his campaigning, he pledged to uphold the prefectural administration promoted by the late former governor. He also touted his administrative experience as a former prefectural government official and appealed for the expansion of child care support measures and disaster prevention and mitigation measures, garnering broad support. Matsuzaka had advocated a prefectural government that would help people's lives by raising the minimum wage and reducing consumption tax, but failed to attract enough votes.
The Mainichi
11-05-2025
- Politics
- The Mainichi
Buried history of sexual torture under now-defunct law in Japan recalled a century on
OSAKA -- A century has passed since the promulgation in April 1925 of the Peace Preservation Law, which stripped away freedom of speech and thought in Japan. Before its abolition in 1945, over 100,000 people were apprehended under the law, and over 1,000 are believed to have died due to torture or illness. It was a dark period, during which many women were also oppressed and subjected to unimaginable sexual torture. Kan Harada, 74, a former Kyoto Prefectural Assembly member from Kyoto's Nakagyo Ward, recalls the day when his mother, Toshiko Yamada, shared her painful past with a writer visiting their home. "They stripped her naked and pressed a cigarette against her lower body," Harada said with a detached tone. "What terrible humiliation it was." Harada was in high school at the time and hearing his mother's account for the first time, he was shocked. He was unable to ask her the details of what happened before she passed away in 1998 at the age of 87. Yamada was born in 1911 in the western Japan city of Tottori. After graduating from a local girls' high school, she moved to Tokyo, where she worked for a doctor. Her experiences there changed her life. Discrimination and a labor movement The doctor Yamada worked for would shun poor patients, refusing even to issue death certificates necessary for burial to laborers without money. Witnessing such discrimination based on people's financial status, even after death, Yamada quit her job and began working for the Musansha Shimbun, a newspaper affiliated with the Japanese Communist Party. She also worked in small factories, and became involved in movements to support laborers. The Peace Preservation Law broadly targeted communists and those involved in labor movements. In 1928, an amendment upgraded the maximum sentence under the law to death. Senji Yamamoto, a House of Representatives member from the Labor-Farmer Party who opposed this amendment was assassinated by a right-wing extremist. Many laborers attended his funeral, and police apprehended participants en masse. Yamada was among those taken in by police, and she was apprehended repeatedly after this on the grounds of violating the same law, and tortured. According to her autobiography "Nagai Tabiji" (A long journey), she was detained for over a month at a police station in Yokohama. Yamada refused to give her name or the names of her friends, and the Special Higher Police responded by striking her with bamboo swords and hitting her legs with an iron ball in a bag. She was stripped naked with her hands handcuffed behind her back, and a cigarette was pressed into her lower body. She was eventually sentenced to prison for five years. Focusing on women's and antinuclear movements After her release in 1937, Yamada married a man who had supported her through letters during her imprisonment, and the couple moved to Manchuria (now northeast China). After escaping attacks by Soviet soldiers and facing hardship, they returned to Japan, and settled in Gunma Prefecture after World War II. Yamada went on to dedicate herself to local women's movements and the antinuclear movement. "I think my mother was great for continuing to stand with vulnerable workers and never wavering in her beliefs, despite enduring terrible sexual violence and torture," says Harada. He followed in her footsteps, joining a textile company in Kyoto and eventually taking part in a labor dispute. After effectively being dismissed from the company, he engaged in activities with a local shopping district association. Following his tenure as a prefectural assembly member, he became the chairperson of the Kyoto prefectural headquarters of an alliance seeking state redress for victims of the Peace Preservation Law. He has continued to call for the government to apologize to victims of oppression and compensate them. In recent years, Harada has been concerned about the introduction of legal system changes that could potentially lead to thought control, like the Act on the Protection of Specially Designated Secrets and the establishment of the crime of conspiracy (officially the preparation of acts of terrorism and other organized crimes). "Depending on how those in power think, there is a risk it could lead to the kind of oppression we saw in the past. If we remain silent, we might once again face a dangerous era," he said. 'Erotic terror' buried in history The kind of sexual torture Yamada endured was not an exception. "Prejudices against the Communist Party and labor unions, combined with misogyny, led to many women being humiliated," says 78-year-old Kimie Oishi of the Osaka Prefecture city of Sakai, who serves as vice chairperson of the central headquarters of the alliance seeking state compensation. "The sexual torture of women under the Peace Preservation Law was absolutely vile, and was described as 'Erotic Terror.' People could not even speak of it to their families, and it has long been buried in history," she said. According to the alliance, there are women who have conveyed accounts of the torture to succeeding generations. One victim, Chiyoko Ito, a social activist from Nagano Prefecture, was subjected severe torture and died at 24 from causes related to mental illness. Her life has been depicted in numerous biographies and films. Takako Nakamoto, a proletarian writer from Yamaguchi Prefecture, wrote about being stripped naked, having a broom thrust into her, and being choked. Another woman from the Tokyo island of Hajijojima left a testimony saying she was stripped naked and molested, and tortured until she lost hearing in her left ear. Oishi notes that many women refused to turn from communism even when they were tortured in prison. "They probably were able to endure the torture because they believed that militarism would eventually end and a democratic society would certainly come. I want people to learn more about the history of such women's suffering," she says.
Hans India
04-05-2025
- Politics
- Hans India
Japan's Constitution Day: Rally held in Tokyo to honour peace, oppose war
Tokyo: Nearly 40,000 peace-seeking Japanese participated in a rally in a park in Tokyo on Constitution Memorial Day on Saturday, calling for honouring the country's pacifist constitution and opposition to war and arms expansion. Many Japanese lawmakers, scholars and citizens were invited to speak at the rally, with many participants holding banners and placards such as "Oppose arms expansion" and "Love the Constitution and safeguard world peace!" to express their firm support for the concept of peace, reports Xinhua news agency. The current Constitution of Japan was enacted in 1947 and is known as the pacifist postwar constitution, in which Article 9 renounces war and bans the country from maintaining land, sea and air forces, as well as other war potential. For decades, Article 9 has been a fundamental constraint on Japan's military endeavours. However, in recent years, the Japanese government has taken steps such as lifting the ban on collective self-defence and updating three security and defence-related documents, which have caused grave concern among the public. Senior officials from opposition parties called for not allowing the Diet, the country's parliament, to propose constitutional amendments while underscoring the need to protect peace, lives, livelihoods and human rights by utilising the current Constitution. Tomoko Tamura, head of the Japanese Communist Party, pointed out in her speech that the Japanese government's series of actions have essentially incorporated the Self-Defense Forces into the US military command system, adding that Japan should promote peace diplomacy in East Asia free from war concerns in accordance with the Constitution and build a broader framework for dialogue and cooperation. Ex-Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry official Shigeaki Koga said the world is undergoing profound changes, and Japan should adhere to the spirit of peace embodied in its Constitution. He stressed that Japan should break away from its dependence on certain countries and rebuild diplomatic relations based on people-to-people exchanges and understanding, noting that only through dialogue can confrontation be resolved and peace maintained. Emeritus Manabu Sato of the University of Tokyo criticised the current Japanese government's military expansion policy as being contrary to the spirit of the Constitution and questioned the huge defence expenditure. He believes that war-renouncing Article 9 brought long-term peace to Japan after the war, and the government should prioritise using resources for education, people's welfare and the improvement of social structure. The rally attracted a large number of young people and families. A mother who brought her children to the rally told Xinhua: "I hope my children can grow up in an environment free from the threat of war. As a parent, I have the responsibility to pass on this concept."
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.
