News organization reported the story as sexual harassment in
a forum of freedom of speech. One or plural male members of prefectural
congress of Tokyo metropolitan district hurled offensive words to the podium
where a young female member making a speech demand improvement in policy for
women. After tremendous number of voices denouncing the male members appeared
on her account of twitter, no one identified who said that.
Ayaka Shiomura, a member elected from Setagaya precinct, was
in her question to Tokyo metropolitan government asking more support for women
who have problem in her pregnancy and giving birth on Wednesday. When she said
“It is important to support women who do not have someone to consult with,” one
male member yelled “Isn’t it better for you to be married soon?” Another voice,
unclear whether it was the same person or another, cast a humiliating words, “Can’t
you give birth?” Tokyo Metropolitan Congress was embarrassingly degraded to a
herd of barbarians.
Shiomura tweeted about her frustration against oppressive
yells in the congress. “It was regretful yells to me. I would accept criticisms
over policy, but that was something to be said to women with troubles,” she
described. There came over twenty thousand retweets on her account, one of
which indicated that would be a disciplinary action, if it had been done in a
private corporation. Media reports followed the explosion of her twitter.
In this kind of case, there should be a witch hunting in
Japanese society. “Who said that?” is the focus of this story now. However, not
even the man has not stepped forward, no other colleagues, knowing who had been
that, tried to identify him. Some suspect someone at a seat in the area of
Liberal Democratic Party did that. Another dismissed it. Some female members
demanded the chairman for measures to prevent that kind of offensive yells. The
Communists denounced the yell as violation against human rights. There is a
discussion of requiring voice printing for identification.
If democracy in Tokyo is alive, there should be someone
identifying the suspect. Otherwise, Tokyo congress will be doubted as not
respectful about women rights or freedom of speech. Some argue that it is not
favorable for internationalization of Tokyo, which is elected to the host city
of the Olympic Games six years later. “Those yells in congress contradicted the
hospitality principle of Tokyo Olympic, Omotenashi. Is this city worthy for
having the games?” a board member of Tokyo Education Committee, Hirotada Ototake,
commented. But discrimination against women to some degree is common all over
this nation.
No comments:
Post a Comment