Women in Post War Japan

Women in post war Japan have been treated with the least dignity, since the Japanese culture considers them as feminine compared to men. There is therefore gender inequality in the country since men are considered to be more superior. During the World War II, men in Japan were asked to join the military in order to take part in defending their country. On the other hand, women were asked to remain at home and take care of their families thus making sure that whenever their husbands returned from work, they could find something to eat (Bardsley, 2014). However, in 1946, the country adopted the new constitution and it therefore allowed women to participate in voting. Moreover, the constitution also allowed them equality to men, thus they were treated equally with men. In addition, the new constitution allowed them to be able to participate in education after it opened learning institutions for women. They were also able to receive equal pay as men for the equal jobs that they did. Even though women face may barriers in Japan, the new constitution really changed their way of life in the country.

Protest in postwar Japanese history

In the year 1960, Japan signed a US-Japanese treaty which commonly known as the Anpo. This led to the demonstration by millions of Japanese who were against the treaty and Kishi government which signed the treaty without the accent of the elected leaders. This therefore saw millions of citizens matching in the streets, demanding the government to drop the treaty and in turn wage a war against Vietnam (Gordon, 2013). The protests lasted for months, leading to economic stagnation in the country, since most citizens boycotted their work in order to participate in the protests. Decades after the protests, the citizens of the Anpo era movement, influenced the organizations, and the philosophies of politics which were against the Vietnam War effort, environmental movements, residents, and consumers. This therefore saw the movement organization impulsive departs from the preceding scholarship, through focusing on the importance of Anpo demonstrations on citizen’s drive in order to change the society of the Japanese other than on the global mediation. This therefore showed how the protests were done in a very different way so as to change the phase of the movement.

Change and Continuity in Occupation era- Japan

During the occupation era in Japan, the United States changed almost each and everything in the political structure of the country. This therefore saw the country adopting a new constitution which was related to the US, leading to most changes in the country’s social and political lives. This therefore saw the changes in gender and equality rights for both sexes in the country (Phillips, 2011). Women were allowed to enjoy the same rights as men according to the new constitution that the country had adopted. The education system was also changed in order to suit the needs to women, thus allowing women to participate in learning. Moreover, women were also allowed to participate in political posts, thus they could be elected as leaders under the new constitution. Furthermore, Japan ended its series of invading other countries, thus it remained as a sovereign state without interfering with the affairs of other countries through invading them. Finally, Japan signed the Anpo treaty in order to end Vietnam War, hence leading to the peaceful coexistence between Japan and other countries.

Reference

Gordon, A. (2013). Postwar Japan as history. Berkeley: Univ. of California Press.

Bardsley, J. (2014). Women and democracy in Cold War Japan. London [u.a.: Bloomsbury.

Phillips, J. M. (2011). From the rising of the sun: Christians and society in contemporary japan. Eugene: Wipf & Stock Publishers.