02. From Japan: April 2008 Archives

Tomoko ENDO
Director, National Women’s Shelter Net
【The article below is the same as the article that appears in the ninth issue of the CGS Newsletter.】

National Women’s Shelter Net, a nationwide network for DV (domestic violence) victim support groups, held its 10th National Shelter Symposium, “Message from Asia: Eradicating Violence Against Women,” over a period of three days from Nov 23, 2007. Being their first international forum, it was a valuable opportunity for international exchange and to share a common feeling that the damage inflicted by DV is the same across national borders. There was much to learn from other countries, such as South Korea, which have more advanced support systems than ours. It was an unprecedented event in many ways ? a total attendance of 2,500 people, widespread media coverage, an address by the Prime Minister, and sponsorship by 64 organizations. As a member of Shelter Net, I am relieved and overjoyed that this event was so successful beyond all our expectations.

Aya TAKEUCHI
Freelance writer
【The article below is the same as the article that appears in the ninth issue of the CGS Newsletter.】

On November 17th 2007, Delta G held a workshop entitled “‘Pride Work’ Talk - Convincing and Satisfactory Jobs” for women and sexual minorities. The guest speakers were Mr. Issho Kon, Ms. Kyoko Okutani (Representative, WWB Japan) and Mr. Shigeru Yamamoto (Representative, Kotoba no Atelier). Okutani and Yamamoto both feature in Kon’s new book, Pride Work. WWB Japan, the Japanese branch of Women’s World Banking, was established in 1980 with the support of the United Nations and the World Bank in order to nurture women entrepreneurs. Kotoba no Atelier provides employment assistance for NEETs (young people Not in Education, Employment or Training) and hikikomori (individuals in self-confinement at home due to acute social withdrawal), through various activities such as their “All Neet Nippon” net radio program and the Tokiwa-so project. The event featured talks on actual practices such as Social Venture (social business organization), with the main theme being “Sustainable Work for Society and the Individual.”

Kazuya KAWAGUCHI
Professor, Hiroshima Shudo University
【The article below is the same as the article that appears in the ninth issue of the CGS Newsletter.】

On October 27th 2007, a General Assembly for the Establishment of the Japan Association for Queer Studies (JAQS) was held at Tokyo University’s Komaba Campus. Close to 300 people braved the terrible weather to attend the session, despite the approaching unseasonal typhoon.

Tomomi YAMAGUCHI
Assistant Professor, Montana State University

On June 10, 2007, a workshop entitled “How Does Backlash on the Internet Occur?: the Interactive Relationship Between the Mass Media and the Discursive Sphere of the Web” was held at the Spring conference of the Japan Mass Communication Association at Kumamoto Gakuen University. Among the panelists were Masami SAITO (Toyama University), Chiki OGIUE (blogger), Akihiro KITADA (University of Tokyo), Tomomi YAMAGUCHI, and a special guest, Noriaki IMAI (writer). All the panelists are bloggers with a history of opposing backlash discourse on the web. Here, I would like to focus on two points that I consider to be particularly important. Please see the reports on the workshop already posted on the web for detailed information. *