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Palgrave Macmillan

Sexual Harassment in Japanese Politics

  • Book
  • © 2021

Overview

Authors:
  1. Emma Dalton

    1. School of Global, Urban and Social Studies, RMIT University, Melbourne, Australia

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  • Investigates gendered discrimination and harassment against women politicians in Japan.
  • Includes extensive interviews with women politicians in both local and national level politics
  • Draws on quantitative research survey data and Elaborate obstacles facing politically ambitious Women in Japan

Part of the book series: Palgrave Macmillan Studies on Human Rights in Asia (PMSHRA)

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Table of contents (8 chapters)

  1. Front Matter

    Pages i-vii
    Download chapter PDF

  2. Introduction

    • Emma Dalton
    Pages 1-21

  3. Sekuhara: Framing Violence Against Women in Politics in Japan

    • Emma Dalton
    Pages 23-43

  4. Coerced Silence

    • Emma Dalton
    Pages 45-80

  5. The Extent of Violence Against and Harassment of Women in Politics

    • Emma Dalton
    Pages 81-108

  6. Managing Sexual Harassment

    • Emma Dalton
    Pages 109-124

  7. Institutional Responses to Sexual Harassment

    • Emma Dalton
    Pages 125-160

  8. ‘Harassment Paradise’: Tales from Rural Local Councils

    • Emma Dalton
    Pages 161-195

  9. Conclusion

    • Emma Dalton
    Pages 197-210

  10. Back Matter

    Pages 211-239
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Keywords

About this book

Sexual harassment in Japanese politics examines a problem that violates women’s human rights and prevents a flourishing democracy. Japan fares badly in international gender equality indices, especially for female political representation. The scarcity of women in politics reflects the status of women and also exacerbates it. Based on interviews with female politicians around the country from all levels of government, this book sheds light on the sexist and sometimes dangerous environments in Japanese legislative assemblies. These environments reflect and recreate broader sexual inequalities in Japanese society and are a hothouse for sexual harassment. Like many places around the world, workplace sexual harassment laws and regulations in Japan often fail to protect women from being harassed. Even more, in the ‘workplace’ of the legislative council, such regulations are typically absent. This book discusses what this means for women in politics in the context of a broader culture whereby victims of sexual violence are largely silenced. 


 


Reviews

"The term sekuhara was popularized in Japan around 30 years ago, but sexual harassment in politics is rarely discussed. This is strange given that longtime legal and social efforts for gender equality have been impeded by politics, an arena that most Japanese consider extremely sexist. Dalton’s striking and persuasive work within the framework of Violence against Women in Politics offers us a clear-cut tool to analyze Japanese politics."  (-- Yayo Okano, Graduate School of Global Studies, Doshisha University, Japan) 

"Sexual Harassment in Japanese Politics is an insightful examination of the legal, social, and ideological forces that have legitimized the sexual harassment of women in Japanese politics. The book makes a major contribution to the understanding of how sexual harassment and violence against women continue to be tolerated in professional arenas in one of the world’s most gender-unequal countries." (-- Kumiko Nemoto, School of Business Administration, Senshu University, Japan.)

"Sexual harassment against women in politics has been pervasive but silenced. Dalton provides a crucial and timely research on how sexual harassment in Japanese politics hinders women’s political ambition and career development, using In-depth interviews at all levels of legislature. This book is a must-read for all scholars and students wishing to better understand how politics is implicated in sexist gender norms and practices, and why democracy needs women’s equal political participation." (--Ki-young Shin, Ochanomizu University, Japan.)

“Centering the voices of women politicians, Sexual harassment in Japanese politics brings light to the often unspoken problem of sexual harassment of women in politics. Dalton’s thorough approach explores cultural, institutional, and legal barriers that facilitate sexual harassment of women in elected positions, bringing to light the consequences of this problem for the victims, gender equality, and democracy. This book will interest those studying violence against women in politics, gender and politics, and democratic representation. “ (--Juliana Restrepo Sanín, University of Florida, US.)

Authors and Affiliations

  • School of Global, Urban and Social Studies, RMIT University, Melbourne, Australia

    Emma Dalton

About the author

Emma Dalton is a Japanese lecturer in the School of Global, Urban and Social Studies at RMIT University.

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