Video #4 - "Japanese Women On The Web"

Monday, January 09, 2006

sources | lesson plan

BACKGROUND INFORMATION

Japan used to be an agricultural society. Rice farming in Japan began in 4 B.C. From this period up to the 1960's, the economy in Japan had largely depended on this one crop. In 1183, the Japanese government decided to collect straw bags of rice as a tax. Women were particularly affected by this measure. They not only had to maintain their level of involvement with the crop production, but were also pressured to have more children that would eventually assist with the workload of the farm.

As this shows, the role of Japanese women had long been to assist with agricultural production in addition to nurturing the children and attending to most all of the domestic work. Women were not allowed to voice their opinions; furthermore, silence was considered a virtue. Women were denied the opportunity of an education. Basically, they were regarded as a tool for reproduction.

In 1885, education began to be required for both Japanese men and women. Education was not free, so only women from wealthy families could benefit from this new opportunity. In 1900 free compulsory education for a four-year period was introduced. It was at this point that women could enter the formal education process. In 1979 the 34th United Nations conference adopted a treaty for the abolition of discrimination against women. In 1980 the Japanese government adopted the treaty and it went into effect in 1981.

Today, Japan has the second largest economy in the world, but owing to stereotypical views of gender roles, women are still considered as a source of free labor and the primary nurturer of the family. Japanese women are among the world's best educated and most underutilized. Traditionally, they were married before the age of 26; otherwise, convention held that they were too old. In Japan, "...marriage is considered a family event, not an individual event." says Keiko Higuchi, a professor and commentator on women's issues. "A wife is considered not only married to her husband but to his family." Therefore, marriage means foregoing a career and independence for the responsibility of running the household, caring for the children and for the husband's aging parents.

The result of these social pressures is that many Japanese women are postponing marriage until they are older. Between 1975 and 1990, the population of unmarried Japanese women between the ages of 25 to 29 years old nearly doubled from 21 to 40 percent according to Appelbaum and Chambliss. Furthermore, the birthrate has dropped sharply and is one of the lowest in the world. At the same time, the Japanese have the longest life expectancy in the world.

Junsuke Deguchi's views seem typical. He is a pharmaceutical company executive who was part of a Tokyo Chamber of Commerce group that traveled to Europe to study the birthrate drop. "It's a very sensitive issue that's difficult to talk about. But it started with women getting higher education and becoming richer. They tend to put more emphasis on their own work and cultural activities and tend to resist the idea of staying home with children." Deguchi acknowledges that he's old-fashioned, and the idea that men and women might be seen as equals -- including sharing equal responsibility for child-rearing -- is beyond him. He said that if a male executive at his company tried to leave the office at 5:30 to pick up the children at a day-care center, he would be considered strange. "My generation can't imagine sharing the housework," he said.

Those women who decide to postpone marriage for the sake of a career, independence and personal freedom don't seem to be faring much better in Japan. The economic recession is a factor that women workers have to contend with in addition to the fact that Japan's corporate culture remains weighed against fair career opportunities for them. According to a survey by the labor ministry, 78.8 percent of female seniors in universities received information for jobs compared to 88 percent for their male counterparts. Sakoto Okamoto, who graduated from Tokyo's prestigious Waseda University with a degree in international law, says she decided from the start to apply for a job only in foreign companies. "Discrimination against women in Japanese companies has become more notorious these past few years. So I decided 'Why waste my time?'," says the 23 year old Okamoto.

Japan's male-dominated work force follows a system that divides new recruits into career track positions and general clerical work -- and more than 80 percent of women are hired in the second categories. More than 40 percent of Japan's workers are women, out of a work force of more than 67 million. Their number has climbed steadily by 28.8 percent from 1986 to 1996. However, women held 2.8 percent of all section chief positions, and only 1.3 percent of all department or division head positions.

Japan is a signatory to the U.N. Equal Employment Opportunity Act, but women make only 62 percent of what men earn. Single women between 20 and 24 years are paid 90 percent of their male counterparts' pay. Working women between 55 and 59 years of age earn just 55 percent of what men make. According to the Prime Minister's Office, a female employee works and average of 2,002 hours a year. Her European counterpart works and average of 1,600 hours a year. Likewise, 83 percent of all Japanese working women are employed in manufacturing, wholesale and retail trades and eating and drinking places. One in two is employed part-time.

There has been some legal progress in bettering their status. In 1996, 12 women employees of a Tokyo credit association won a nine-year court battle over sexual discrimination in promotions. Their employer was ordered to pay them 770,000 dollars in unpaid wages that they would have received had they been promoted along with their male counterparts.

Enter Internet technology. Lucy Craft's report shows that it may be just the ticket for some enterprising Japanese women who want to achieve financial independence, while enabling them to combine careers and families.

back to top

SOURCES:

"The Feminism and Ecofeminism in Japan" www.carbon.cudenver.edu/stc-link/ecofem/japan.htm

"Actual Conditions of Japanese Women and Their Struggle," Japanese Women Today, www.iijnet.or.jp/c-pro/shinfujin/letter/9911.html

Kakuchi, Suvendrini, "Labour-Japan: Women Stumble on the Corporate Ladder." World News, Inter Press Service. www.oneworld.org/ips2/apr98/04_00_002.html

Lev, Michael A. "Japanese Women Have More Freedom, and Fewer Children." Detroit Free Press. April 1, 1998. www.frep.com.news.nw/qjapanl.htm

Misook, Kim, "Empty Exhortation: Japan's Equal Employment Legislation." Institute of Social Science, University of Tokyo. Social Science Japan No.2, November 1994. www.iss.utokyo.ac.jp/newsletter/ssj2/kim.html

GRADE LEVEL/SUBJECT: 10-12/Economics, International Relations, World History, International Baccalaureate Programs(IB), Current Events.

back to top

LESSON PLAN

PURPOSE: to present activities to be used at a variety of classroom situations in order to enhance student understanding of Japanese economy and its significance globally.

OBJECTIVES: Students will be able to:

1. Research the use of the Internet as an entrepreneur's heaven.
2. Research the use of the Internet by female entrepreneurs around the world.
3. Compare and contrast the role of Japanese women in the work force to those of women in other parts of the world.
4. Describe the historical role of women in Japanese society.
5. Analyze the role of women in Japanese society in the last ten years.
6. Analyze the effect of American "pop culture" on the changing role of women in Japanese society.
7. Forecast the role of women in Japanese society in the future.

MATERIALS:

1. Background information provided.
2. Resources on the available at your school's Media Center and the Public Library System in your area.
3. Background information available through Internet "search engines".
4. www.carbon.cudenver.edu/stc-link/ecofem/japan.htm
5. www.iijnet.or.jp/c-pro/shinfujin/letter/9911.html
6. www.oneworld.org/ips2/apr98/04_00_002.html
7. www.frep.com.news.nw/qjapanl.htm
8. www.iss.u-tokyo.ac.jp/newsletter/ssj2/kim.html

ACTIVITIES: May be assigned as group activities or as individual tasks. They may also be designed as preparation for related presentations either by individuals or groups.

1. Divide the class into cooperative groups. Assign different parts of the world to each. Have them gather charts, graphs and information to illustrate the role of women in the workforce of their designated geographical areas. Report this information to the class. Use the information gathered to compare and contrast the role of women around the world to that of Japanese women. Display conclusions in a visible area of the classroom. (May be illustrated with charts and graphs. Students may then develop questions to go with the graphs. These may be used to practice for the FCAT test in Florida.)
2. Write a diary entry from the point of view of one of the following Japanese citizens: an elderly mother-in-law; a young mother with small children; a middle aged woman taking care of in-laws; a single career woman; a female university student; a male university student; a male corporate personnel manager; a young husband; a middle-aged husband.
3. Write an editorial expressing your views on the role of women in Japanese society.
4. Allow individuals or groups to develop scenarios for the role of women in Japanese society in the year 2,020.
5. Write a newspaper article explaining the effect of American "pop culture" on the changing role of women in Japanese society.

EVALUATION: Individual assignments should be graded by the teacher using established criteria. Group activities, presentations and projects may be evaluated by teachers and students using the following criteria and scale:

Content 1= Superior (A) Creativity 2= Excellent (B) Clarity 3= Good (C) 4= Fair (D) 5= Poor (F)

To print this lesson plan: If your browser does not print frames, try this -- click the right button on your mouse and select "Open Frame In New Window." Then use your browser's print function to print that page. Another option -- choose "Select All" from your browser's pull-down Edit menu. "Copy" the highlighted text and then "Paste" it into any text editor. You can then print it from the text editor.

back to top