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BACKLASH, FIGHT BACK, AND BACK-PEDALING: RESPONSES TO STATE FEMINISM IN CONTEMPORARY JAPAN

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  19 January 2011

Ayako Kano
Ayako Kano
Affiliation:
University of Pennsylvania. E-mail kanoayako@gmail.com
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Abstract

From the mid-1990s, the Japanese government has promoted the creation of a “gender-equal society,” but since about 2000 this example of “state feminism” has faced a severe backlash. This article addresses the following questions about the phenomenon of Japanese state feminism, its history and its consequence: (1) How did the government policy for a “gender equal society” come into existence, and what explains its remarkably progressive nature? (2) What was the impact of the involvement of feminist scholars on policy-making? (3) What was the initial response to the policy? (4) What was the background of the backlash, who were the people and organizations involved, and what were the main arguments? (5) What has been the response to the backlash? (6) What are the connections and differences between the present controversy and the collaboration between feminism and the state in previous moments in Japanese history?

Keywords

gendergender policy男女共同参画基本法Queer Studiesgender freefeminismbacklash
Type
Research Article
Information
International Journal of Asian Studies , Volume 8 , Issue 1 , January 2011 , pp. 41 - 62
Copyright
Copyright © Cambridge University Press 2011

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