
That is why the number of female soldiers in Japan is decreasing
Last Updated on May 14, 2024 8:22 am
There is a great need for female soldiers in Japan to build a strong military. But the country’s policy makers are having trouble filling that gap. Because most of the country’s women have lost interest in working in the military. Many do not want to join the army because of sexual harassment. Women’s applications to the country’s defense forces dropped by 12 percent in 2023 due to continued harassment by men. This information emerged in the Reuters report on Monday.
Japan is failing to prevent harassment against women. Even the Ministry of Defense of Japan announced strict measures to prevent sexual harassment. An independent panel of experts has been appointed to look into what steps can be taken to prevent sexual harassment of women in the military. But nine months after the promise, the independent expert panel is unable to see any progress. But no effective action was taken on their proposal. The government-appointed panel released a report in August last year.
The report identified central barriers to preventing sexual harassment. The head of the panel, Makoto Tadaki, said that the training given to women in the military to prevent sexual harassment is ineffective. A woman who filed a lawsuit against the government for alleged sexual harassment said in an interview that she had not seen the application of what she was taught through sexual harassment education in 10 years at work. The Japanese are looking to increase the number of women in the military to increase their military capabilities in the event of war. Because they have been receiving threats from China, North Korea and Russia for the past few years. Japan’s military ally, the United States, has 17 percent women in the military, compared to just 9 percent in Tokyo.
Questions from Reuters regarding allegations of sexual harassment by women were sent by the SPF to the Ministry of Defense in an email. The answer is that such incidents are never tolerated. Because such incidents weaken the mental strength among employees.
In 2022, Reena Gonai, a former female army officer, publicly complained of sexual harassment. After that, the country’s Ministry of Defense investigated more than 170 cases of sexual harassment based on her complaint.