Gender equality and multiculturalism in Japan

The National Women's Education Center (NWEC) sponsored a workshop last February 4 in Tokyo, Japan to promote and encourage the mainstreaming and integration of gender equality and multicultural initiatives among government units and among civil society organizations and groups. Much progress has been done by various partners in government and in civil society for the promotion of gender equality or multiculturalism throughout Japan but much more have to be done to integrate the promotion of both goals within the same office or organization.

About 47 participants from various parts of Japan, mostly women, who belonged to local government offices or civil society organizations in charge of matters related to gender equality and/or multiculturalism, were invited to listen to guest speakers and to share their own experiences with others in the groups that they were assigned to. It was a very busy but productive whole day event with participants articulating the need to sustain a national network of partners for sharing information about initiatives offered for vulnerable groups especially among women and children migrants as well as best practices for promoting multiculturalism within Japan.

There were three major presentations during the workshop. The first presentation, conducted by the Human Rights Division and Japanese Support Center for Children of Matsumoto City in Nagano Prefecture discussed their programs for foreigners (about 3,729 or 1.53% of the city population) that included services and assistance for welfare and protection of rights as well as for the promotion of multiculturalism within the city.

Japanese language support was mentioned as a necessary tool for children and adult foreigners for integration within schools, community and the broader Japanese society. A separate center for women and for children has been established to address the general and particular needs of the foreign population. Aside from language support activities, Matsumoto City also disseminated information and published a magazine intended for the foreigners in the area. Consultations (legal, health, others) were also promoted. To respond to the urgent needs of the foreigners, partnerships were forged among volunteers, with women's and other groups. Still much more needed to be done, according to the Matsumoto City presenters. A wider Japanese support system has to be created that will inform more residents, city employees, community groups and corporations about the need to unite to promote better gender equality and multiculturalism among all residents of the city. More collaboration between and among municipalities and related institutions, more research, more media partnership and more information exchange and dissemination were also suggested.

The second presentation made by the Shizuoka City International Exchange Association representative showed colored maps of the foreign population per nationality throughout Shizuoka City ( in Aichi Prefecture) and tables with the same information and for various years. This city also mentioned common problems faced by the foreigners, especially domestic violence among women and problems related to language and cultural barriers affecting the move towards a better multicultural setting. Like Matsumoto City, the need to create a more effective system of support among a broader spectrum of partners (including social workers and specialists) for foreigners and for developing a multicultural environment was cited.

The third presentation was done by a non-profit organization- the Fujimino International Culture Center which started in 1988 and incorporated in 2001 with the goals of supporting the independence of foreign residents in Japan and the co-existence of multiple cultures in their area. This NPO offered consultations, counseling, emergency shelters and assistance to foreign residents who escaped from their spouse or partner's domestic violence, job assistance, multi-language support, multi-lingua information, children's support activities, among others.

The discussion groups composed of all workshop participants raised the important point that everyone wanted to be part of a happy community and to do so, the message had to be spread that the problem of anyone is everyone's problem, whether that person is a foreigner or a Japanese and that therefore, the solution needed everyone's collaboration to be solved. Various initiatives for support and assistance were shared and there was a consensus calling for a continuing network for linking everyone and groups committed to the promotion of gender equality and multiculturalism within Japan. For those interested to know more about this February 4 workshop and about NWEC activities, please check out their website:http://www.nwec.jp/en/

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