Summary of the UN Recommendations (Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women)
- Tataushiro Sukiko
- Nov 15, 2024
- 8 min read
2024/11/15
① The Imperial House Law's [allowing only male descendants to succeed to the throne] is contrary to the purpose and intent of the UN treaty.
② Allow "separate surnames for spouses".
・As of 2023, 95% of (Japanese married)women have changed their surnames and taken their husband's surname.
( My Add) The word "夫婦（婦 means wife, 夫 means husband）" is a discriminatory term for women in which the male comes first, and is also a term that does not take homosexual couples into consideration.
This is a major discrimination that goes against gender equality, but many Japanese people are unaware of it.
③ The Family Registration Act still contains provisions for discriminatory descriptions in birth notifications for children born out of wedlock.
④ There is a lot of gender-based sexual violence against women by American soldiers in Okinawa.
Measures must be taken to prevent, investigate, prosecute, and appropriately punish perpetrators, and provide appropriate compensation to victims.
④ Japan's territorial issues
＜Dokdo/Takeshima currently in dispute with North Korea, South Korea ("Chosen") and Japan＞
＜Territorial issues with Russia currently in dispute＞
⑤ Japan should establish a specialized ministry for "women's issues" and "gender equality".
Japan has no effective legal complaints mechanism for women.
Ensure that "elderly", "disabled", "ethnic/linguistic minority" and "migrant" women have effective access to justice.
Educate staff to gain gender-specific expertise.
Provide support services and shelters tailored to the needs of all women, and ensure they are adequately funded.
⑥ Japan does not have a human rights commission, and a bill for one has been pending since 2012.
Japan should establish a national human rights institution in Japan.
⑦ No mandatory quota system for women.
(My Add: No quota such as a quota system, no obligation to have equal numbers of women and Yomen)
Women are under-represented.
(My Add) It（男女） is a big discrimination that the names of laws and institutions that govern women's equality are in the order of "（Yo）men and Women".
【The English word "Man/Men" can mean either a person or a male(Yomale) and is discriminatory against woman(women), so I wrote as "Yoman" to mean only Yomale.
"Y" comes after "W" in the alphabet.
This is Reasonable Considerate Expressions.】
It is necessary to change it to "Women and Yomen" or "gender" in order to use "Reasonable Consideration Expression" (an effort to recognize discrimination by putting the party that is more likely to be discriminated against first).
In this House of Representatives election in Japan, 314 out of 1,344 candidates were women (although this is the highest ever), making it 15.7%.
The national percentage of female presidents in Japanese companies are 15.24%.(although this is the highest ever)
⑧ In Japan, women have limited access to election funds.
As a temporary measure to promote women's politics, consider reducing the 3 million yen deposit for candidates running in the Diet election.
The goal in Japan of [30% of leadership positions held by women] by the early 2020s is far from being achieved.
In addition, increase the number of women in management positions from 30% to 50%, creating incentives to hire more women in senior positions.
9. Patriarchal attitudes and deep-rooted gender stereotypes regarding the roles and responsibilities of Women and Yomen in the family and society persist in Japan.
Japan needs to promote awareness of unconscious gender bias and challenging norms.
10. Sexist messages and portrayals of girls and women are serious in Japan, on television, social media, and in Japanese parliament.
In addition, Japanese pornography, video games, and animated works such as manga promote sexual and gender-based violence against girls and women.
⑪We UN praise the efforts to amend rape in Japan from a “強姦罪（"姦" is a kanji that is derogatory towards women and excludes Yoman victims.）” to a “non-consensual sexual intercourse crime”.
However, we UN call for spousal rape to be clearly criminalized as a separate crime (separate from non-consensual sexual intercourse).
⑫Japan should simplify the extension of protection orders for domestic violence.
Under the 2023 Domestic Violence Act, the validity period of protection orders has been extended from six months to one year, but when the protection orders expire, women are subject to repeated gender-based violence.
Japan needs to resolve the lack of funding and staffing for shelters and counseling for victims.
⑬＜Prostitution and prostitution issues in Japan＞
Japanese law does not address “non-coercive forms of exploitation.”
It also still fails to address “abuse of power” and exploitation due to “vulnerability.”
Exploitation of children in Japan continues, especially online, with child prostitution and pornography crimes at a high level.
Support various national languages, provide temporary residence permits, remove barriers to accessing shelters and legal services, and strengthen reintegration support.
⑭ The COVID-19 pandemic has exacerbated economic hardships, forcing many girls and women into prostitution and sexual exploitation in Japan.
(Japan should address non-forced forms of exploitation)
⑮ Labor trafficking remains grossly underreported.
(This sentence is presumed to mean a situation that is "grossly" but "unreported."
Otherwise, it would not be a UN recommendation.)
⑯ Efforts need to continue and be expanded for the rights of "「comfort women」「慰安婦」" victims/survivors to truth, justice, and compensation.
・"「comfort women」「慰安婦」" have been removed from textbooks.
（My Add）The term "comfort（慰安 means comfort） women" continues to hurt many victims because of the question of who is being comforted. The victims are not considered to be the targets of comfort at all.
Therefore, we have deliberately used long ago quotation marks to clarify this point.
・Make historical facts visible to students and the public in textbooks.
・Reflect the historical experiences of women, such as "comfort women," in textbooks.
・Monitor the extent to which publishers respect this guideline.
⑰Girls and women from minority groups, such as Koreans in Japan, Ainu, and Burakumin, are not adequately represented in decision-making forums that affect their lives.
⑱In Japan, the gender gap (difference between Women and Yomen) is severe in workplaces.
(My Add) Examples: Kabuki（歌舞伎）, Noh（能）, Sumo（相撲）, Baseball, Lawmakers, etc.
There is a large gender gap in top universities and in fields of study that are traditionally male-dominated in Japan, such as science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) and ICT.
Japan should promote women's career advancement in academia and take targeted measures, including temporary special measures, to employ women in full-time teaching positions.
Strengthen gender-sensitive working conditions for faculty, prioritizing shorter working hours and work-life balance.
⑲Japan has large gender wage gap.
・Equal pay for equal work is unobserved in Japan.
・Segregation exists between women and Yomen depending on the type of work.
・Japan shoulg require employers to publish gender wage gap data to correct the gender wage gap.
Not only should large companies be required to disclose the wage gap between men and women, but this should also be expanded to small and medium-sized workplaces where there are a large number of women.
⑳Women are concentrated in low-paid clerical, part-time, or low-paid jobs, and because of family responsibilities, they are forced to work in low-paid jobs, which affects Japanese pension benefits.
Discrimination against women due to childbirth or childbirth continues.
㉑Japan needs to train people to challenge "employment discrimination" and "gender discrimination in employment" to judges.
㉒Women who are immigrants, indigenous people, burakumin（部落）, The challenged people, lesbians, bisexuals, transgender, intersex, etc. often face discrimination and harassment in the Japanese workplace.
㉓Japanese schools should regularly incorporate sex education to prevent early pregnancy and sexually transmitted diseases into school curricula.
Politicians and civil servants should not interfere with this education.
Indirect discrimination: A system or treatment that disadvantages one gender as a result of its implementation, even if it is treated as if it has nothing to do with gender.
In Japan, only weight, height, and mobility requirements are limited, and internationally recognized age, pregnancy, childcare, urban/rural population, etc. are excluded.
㉔Japan's AI is severely sexist because no female engineers are involved from the early stages of AI's development.
Female engineers with such（discrimination against women and gender bias）perspective need to input the data of AI.
Japan's AI has not addressed the issue of gender bias in hiring and there are not enough women in AI leadership positions.
㉕ In Japan, there is no timeline for approval of emergency contraception.
・In Japan, there is also no access to other modern contraceptives such as hormone implants, hormone patches, etc.
・The progesterone-only "mini-pill" has also not been approved in Japan.
㉖ Abortion is not legal in Japan.
Japan needs to amend the Criminal Code and Maternal Health Act to make abortion legal.
・The Maternal Protection Act limits access to legal abortion.
・Even though Japanese abortion is expensive, but it is not covered by Japan's National Health Insurance.
・Even when it is covered, prior consent of the spouse is required.
・Despite Japan approving an oral abortion pill in 2023, there are few clinics offering abortion services, and they are only offered at exorbitant costs similar to surgical abortions.
・Despite Japan’s Supreme Court ruling in 2023 that the sterilization requirement for legal gender recognition is unconstitutional, revisions to Article 3 of the 2003 Gender Identity Disorder Special Cases Act are delayed.
・Abolish parental consent for 16-17 year old girls to use contraception.
(My Add) Few people know recognition of SRHR (sexual and reproductive self-determination) .
㉗Japan’s poverty rate is the highest among OECD countries, with single mothers and older women disproportionately affected.
・Women are disproportionately in unstable employment and at high risk of falling into poverty without adequate social safety nets.
・Japan should strengthen poverty reduction and SDGs, paying special attention to the needs of single-parent households, widows, and older women.
・Japan should expand women's business opportunities and provide them with access to financing opportunities such as collateral-free low-interest loans, credit guarantees, high-value supply chains, and high-value public procurement contracts.
・Japan must record the overall percentage of national credit funds accessed by women.
㉘ Rural women are not able to participate in decision-making and agricultural policy well.
㉙ <Multiple (intersectional) discrimination>
Women, including Koreans living in Japan, immigrants, Ainu（アイヌ）, Buraku（部落）, The challenged people, and LGBTQi+ women, face multiple (intersectional) discrimination that restricts their education, employment, and healthcare.
㉚ Japan needs to properly monitor the working conditions of migrant women in the Technical Intern Training Program.
Japan needs to develop methods to protect female migrant workers from discriminatory practices such as pregnancy deportation and separation from overseas families.
㉛ Prevent women with intellectual disabilities from discrimination in sexual and reproductive health services.
Japan should call medical institutions accountable for refusing the women with intellectual care.
㉜ Japan has to collect detailed data on the impact of climate change and natural disasters on girls and women.
・Japan should empower women by including them in climate change-related decision-making and resilience development.
㉝ Despite provisions in the Japanese Civil Code, Japanese women are discriminated against in asset management, access to bank accounts and property titles, and equal division of assets upon divorce.
・ Under the current Japanese consensual divorce system, even in cases involving abusive fathers or cases where a protection order should be issued, it has been reported that family courts often prioritize child visitation rights, which may undermine the safety of both the child and the victimized mother.
Judges and child welfare officials should take gender-based violence into account appropriately when determining child custody and visitation rights.
- Current policies aimed at supporting single mothers in raising their children do not adequately address the socio-economic challenges they face and the persistence of sexist stereotypes about single parents.
㉞Same-sex marriage and common-law marriages are not legally recognized.
Same-sex couples are prohibited from adopting children.
㉟For example, investment in the mining sector in North Africa is fraught with problems, particularly violence against women and exploitation of labor, as well as issues with local communities and resources.
Japan should establish proper provisions regarding Extraterritorial State obligations.
㊱Japan has not adopted temporary special measures to address the plight of girls and women affected by Fukushima.
Japan should adopt temporary special measures for girls and women affected by Fukushima.
- Japan should disseminate this UN recommendation to all national institutions (national, state, and city), especially the government, the Diet, and the judiciary, and call for its full implementation.
- Japan should adhere to nine international human rights instruments to facilitate women's enjoyment of human rights and fundamental freedoms in all aspects of their lives.
<The nine international human rights instruments are as follows>
- Protection of the rights of all migrant workers and their families
- Economic, social, and cultural rights
- Children's rights in correspondence procedures
- Protocol aimed at abolishing the death penalty
- Optional Protocol to the Convention against Torture
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