Development Program and former New Zealand Prime Minister Helen Clark said shortly before the release of the agency’s 2014 Human Development Report that “Japan must work to ‘eliminate misogyny’ if it wants to draw more women into the workforce as part of a wider bid to stimulate the economy,” according to an AFP report. However, the report also noted China’s contribution to regional tensions, specifically its repeated use of anti-Japanese rhetoric and its antagonistic deployment of aircraft and coast guard vessels near the disputed Senkaku/Diaoyu Islands.įinally, the head of the U.N. The report can be considered somewhat timely as the anniversary of the Japanese defeat in the Second World War is on August 15, a time when many Japanese politicians visit the shrine. It noted the highly inflammatory nature of Prime Minister Shinzo Abe’s visit to Yasukuni Shrine, where 14 Japanese Class A war criminals are enshrined, and recommended that the government give assurance that such a visit not happen again while Abe is prime minister. The International Crisis Group was also critical of Japan in its Asia Report on Thursday.
The report also recommended that Japan make a more open and explicit apology in order to take responsibility for its use of “comfort women” during the Second World War, and change the current policy of ignoring or even revising this issue in public education and text books.
The report noted “concern at the widespread racist discourse” as well as hate speech directed at minorities living in Japan, the continued presence of “Japanese only” signs, as well as “insufficient protection” in penal and civil law for those targeted by racist acts. Though the report did commend Japan on its legislation to combat human trafficking and improve gender equality, it cited two main areas where Japan had fallen behind, and that are of particular concern to countries like China, the Philippines, and North and South Korea. Human Rights Committee report released on Thursday was highly critical of Japan on several fronts. However, not all the news was negative, and with respect to the current administration’s attempt to increase the role of women in politics and leadership positions in general, there is the expectation that Japan has found the right path forward.Ī U.N.
While the issues presented are certainly not new for Japan, these organizations highlighted Japan’s current position on topics that are considered crucial to many of its neighbors. Japan’s record on social and gender equality, as well as its wartime past, took quite a hit this week as several international bodies formally chastised Tokyo.
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