The organizers of this year's annual conference of the Association for Social Science Research on Japan (Vereinigung für sozialwissenschaftliche Japanforschung (VSJF)) at the JDZB, Susanne Kreitz-Sandberg (University of Düsseldorf) and Claudia Derichs (University of Duisburg-Essen), wanted to examine from the perspective of various social sciences the dynamic change in gender roles occurring in Japan under the influence of globalization, and at the same time to widen the focus beyond Japan to other Asian countries in order to incorporate a comparative perspective. New fields were opened up with the inclusion of Asia in the conference's subject matter while discussions of gender issues have a long tradition at the VSJF with its workshop "Gender Studies in Japan."
In the first session "Gender as a Theoretical and Empirical Challenge for Cultural Studies and Social Science Research" Professor Mae Michiko (University of Düsseldorf) highlighted the close link of gender roles with national identity in the process of modernization in Japan. Any changes to existing gender roles, as currently discussed under the neologism 'gender free', signify to the conservative powers-that-be a simultaneous attack on national identity and the Japanese family as an important foundation of Japanese social order. In contrast, women have since the 1970s critically debated the national limitations of gender roles and developed a transnational conscience.
Professor Ilse Lenz (University of Bochum) sees Japanese society as experiencing a period of change in which gender is increasingly conceptualized as a relational category. The boundaries between the genders are no longer clearly defined. In the reflexive process of modernization nations, family, and the national hegemonic gender structures are increasingly being questioned.
Dr. Annette Schad-Seifert (University of Leipzig) presented an overview of the Japanese approach to the discipline of "Men's Studies." The discourses triggered by these studies emphasize in particular that men must develop new role models as a result of changing social conditions (i.e., globalization, the erosion of the traditional white-collar company, the demand for equal participation by women, etc). Yet, little attention is paid to the fact that the structures of social policy and institutions actually hinder real changes in gender behavior. In his commentary, Dr. Michael Meuser (University of Duisburg-Essen), a researcher in Men's Studies, pointed out that the roles and patterns of employment are eroding even in Germany and that men are increasingly having to find individual solutions because, as of yet, there are no persuasive models for new gender roles.
In a paper presented during the evening reception, the economist Professor Osawa Mari (University of Tôkyô) spoke about the socio-economic causes for the resistance to change in gender relations in Japan that can be observed despite the far-reaching social debate on the equality of men and women in Japanese society and the political programs and laws (for which she acted as an adviser) associated with the debate. Existing social systems continue to favor families with the male as sole breadwinner, while other forms of family remain clearly disadvantaged in laws concerning social welfare, pensions and super-annuation. There is a clear discrepancy between the old role models, as supported by the social welfare system, and economic and social developments that do not allow younger female employees the chance to fulfill these roles while failing to provide support for them in their search for new models.
In the second session on Gender in Japan and (South) East Asia, Professor Mark Thompson (University of Erlangen-Nürnberg) presented in the first panel "Breaking through the Glass Ceiling" his research on female political leaders in Asia (German Research Association Project in cooperation with Derichs). For the project, 14 female politicians were chosen from countries with traditional and patriarchal social systems; all women hailed from political dynasties, many were widows of a martyr or daughters of an influential politician seated in high office. The decision for female leaders was often made within the dynasties using gender stereotypes and along the lines of traditional female role models. The women's tasks were regarded as performing a symbolic function and representing rather than governing.
Professor Lorna Israel (Miriam College, Philippines) outlined in her paper the political career of Philippine presidents Corazon Aquino and Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo. Israel confirmed that both presidents presented themselves above all as symbolic female leaders in line with female stereotypes and as a symbol of national unity.
Saumura Tioulong (SRP Women's League Cambodia) rejected one-sided accounts depicting women in political organizations as dependents of their fathers or husbands. Even though she was married to the leader of the opposition, as a women she was well able to have her own view and employ strategies to promote her own political agenda.
In the second panel of this session "Japan Within Asia – Asia Within Japan: Women's Strategies and Discourses," Dr. Andrea Germer (German Institute for Japanese Studies, Tôkyô) and Professor Ulrike Wöhr (Hiroshima City University) discussed the difficult discourse among Japanese feminists on the role of Japanese women in the Pacific War when Japan acted as an aggressor nation against its Asian neighbors. The topic of forced prostitution by the Japanese military for sexual services played a central role in this context.
While in the 1950s the feminist historian Takamure Itsue regarded Japanese women as the sexually exploited victims of the war and ignored the problems of forced prostitution, in the 1970s her colleague Yamazaki Tomoko took into account Japan's role as an aggressor and sought to deal with this topic (Germer).
In the 1990s an important paradigm shift occurred: the topic of "comfort women" (ianfu, euphemistic term used by the Japanese military for those enslaved into prostitution) was no longer discussed under the aspect of prostitution, but as rape. The discussion was led by Japanese feminists beyond national boundaries and now directly involves the women concerned in Korea and Asia.
In the final paper of this panel, Professor Yeong-hae Jung (Otsuma Women's University, Tôkyô) examined the survival strategies employed by female migrants from East Asia in Japan. Jung criticized in particular the lack of effort of the Japanese government to integrate these migrants.
On the afternoon of the second day four workgroups were formed: "Gender and Media. How Korea is Presented in Japan" (Daniela Rechenberger and Professor Hilaria Gössmann, both from the University of Trier); "Globalization of Gender Politics in East Asia" (Mihee Hong and Tanaka Hiromi, both from the University of Bochum); "The Construction of 'Masculinity' and 'Femininity' in Education and Sport in East Asia" (Kreitz-Sandberg; Dr. Wolfram Manzenreiter, University of Vienna, Professor Denise Gimpel, University of Copenhagen); "Working Women's Networks in Times of Globalization" (Marie Sachiko Baier, University of Vienna; Professor Rosalinda Pineda Ofreneo, University of the Philippines, Diliman).
The third session (Gender and Organization in Transition) began with a panel on military and gender. Both Professor Sabine Frühstück (University of California, Santa Barbara), who examined the Japanese Self Defense Forces, as well as Professor Eyal Ben-Ari (Hebrew University, Jerusalem), who is currently carrying out research on UN peacekeeping troops, came to the conclusion that the soldiers are locked in a conflict between their own self-understanding as fighters and the changing demands required of them as aid workers and protectors in domestic and international deployments. Special training units for peacekeeping have until now only been offered in a few select countries.
In the concluding panel "Gender Perspectives on the Welfare State and Employment in Change" chaired by Prof. Dr. Karen Shire (University of Duisburg-Essen), it became clear once again that the existing social welfare systems in Germany and Japan continue to promote the traditional family model of the sole male breadwinner with a dependent family. In many countries of Asia, globalization not only signifies opportunities for women, but also harbors dangers in new areas of exploitation, e.g., the cheap labor-reserve or through forced migration into the sex industries of other nations.
All of the papers presented at the conference clearly revealed that gender is on the agenda of almost all political fields, and that it features in the social discourses of the countries examined. Under increasing pressure of international organizations and networks, concepts are being developed and discussed in the hope of greater equality between the sexes in society. Nonetheless, in everyday life these discourses have until now scarcely been heard because rigid institutional structures frustrate any quick changes. Conservative role models, learned and acquired through education and normative social expectations, remain most effective and powerful both in Japan and other Asian nations. Yet we must remember in our studies that segregation must not be placed on par with discrimination; other models of society must be carefully analyzed. The papers at the conference provided invaluable insights and opened up comparative perspectives.
Karin Klose
Free University of Berlin
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