Austin Gray
Comparative Government and Politics
Dr. Milley
April 29, 2017
Final Essay After spending a semester in Professor Milley’s class I have been intrigued by many topics of discussion. However, not everything was, nor will be, applicable to my life four or five years from now. That being said, the information that was presented discussed through this class did allow for a better understanding over world politics; a foundation. I enjoyed the discussion involving Japan. I have personal interest in topic surrounding Japanese society and their political environment. I will be discussing the implication of the Meiji Constitution and how it has affected women economically and socially since implementation. In 1887, during the Meiji period …show more content…
But abortions had been made legal in 1952 so they began being used as complements to contraception. Eventually, because of the efforts of feminists like Misako Enoki, the birth control pill was legalized in Japan in 1999. Despite these successes, some matters did not change. These laws promised were rarely, if ever, enforced. For example, even though an equal pay act was drafted shortly after the Constitution was promulgated, women were paid 53.9% of what men were in 1974 and even their social security payments were one third of the males' payments. Furthermore, in 1982, almost 40% of marriages were still arranged even though equal rights in marriage were promised in the Constitution. To this day, a woman has not been a Chair of Chamber and females only make up 18.2% of the House of Councilors. The first female governor, Fusae Ohta, was only elected in 2000, over fifty years after the Constitution was enacted. After the destruction of Japan during the Second World War, an American staff of diplomats rewrote the Meiji Constitution promising equal rights and opportunities for both men and women. Much of what the Japanese Constitution promised to women was not actually realized. Economically, women did not gain much independence through the …show more content…
PBS, n.d. Web. 24 April. 2017.
Herzog, Peter J. "Political Theories in the Japanese Constitution." Monumenta Nipponica 7.1/2 (1951): 1-23. JSTOR. Web. 24 April. 2017. .
Koyama, Takashi. The Changing Social Position of Women in Japan. [Paris]: UNESCO, 1961. Print.
Manchester, William. American Caesar: Douglas MacArthur, 1880-1964. Boston: Little, Brown, 1978. Print.
Matsui, Machiko. "Evolution of the Feminist Movement in Japan." NWSA Journal 2.3 (1990): 435-49. JSTOR. Web. 10 Feb. 2014. .
"Osaka's New Leader." Trends in Japan. N.p., n.d. Web. 24 April. 2017.
Paine, Thomas, and Isaac Kramnick. Common Sense. Harmondsworth Middlesex, England: Penguin, 1986. Print.
Parry, Melanie. Larousse Dictionary of Women. New York: Larousse, 1996. 220. Print.
Robins-Mowry, Dorothy The Hidden Sun: Women of Modern Japan (Boulder: Westview Press, 1983).
"Saboten Girl." Saboten Girl. N.p., n.d. Web. 24 April. 2017.
Supreme Court of Japan (1955) (enacted). Print.
Trager, James. Letters from Sachiko: A Japanese Woman's View of Life in the Land of the Economic Miracle. New York: Atheneum, 1982. 167. Print.
"Women in Parliaments Global Forum." Japan: House of Councillors. N.p., n.d. Web. 24 April.
Comparative Government and Politics
Dr. Milley
April 29, 2017
Final Essay After spending a semester in Professor Milley’s class I have been intrigued by many topics of discussion. However, not everything was, nor will be, applicable to my life four or five years from now. That being said, the information that was presented discussed through this class did allow for a better understanding over world politics; a foundation. I enjoyed the discussion involving Japan. I have personal interest in topic surrounding Japanese society and their political environment. I will be discussing the implication of the Meiji Constitution and how it has affected women economically and socially since implementation. In 1887, during the Meiji period …show more content…
But abortions had been made legal in 1952 so they began being used as complements to contraception. Eventually, because of the efforts of feminists like Misako Enoki, the birth control pill was legalized in Japan in 1999. Despite these successes, some matters did not change. These laws promised were rarely, if ever, enforced. For example, even though an equal pay act was drafted shortly after the Constitution was promulgated, women were paid 53.9% of what men were in 1974 and even their social security payments were one third of the males' payments. Furthermore, in 1982, almost 40% of marriages were still arranged even though equal rights in marriage were promised in the Constitution. To this day, a woman has not been a Chair of Chamber and females only make up 18.2% of the House of Councilors. The first female governor, Fusae Ohta, was only elected in 2000, over fifty years after the Constitution was enacted. After the destruction of Japan during the Second World War, an American staff of diplomats rewrote the Meiji Constitution promising equal rights and opportunities for both men and women. Much of what the Japanese Constitution promised to women was not actually realized. Economically, women did not gain much independence through the …show more content…
PBS, n.d. Web. 24 April. 2017.
Herzog, Peter J. "Political Theories in the Japanese Constitution." Monumenta Nipponica 7.1/2 (1951): 1-23. JSTOR. Web. 24 April. 2017. .
Koyama, Takashi. The Changing Social Position of Women in Japan. [Paris]: UNESCO, 1961. Print.
Manchester, William. American Caesar: Douglas MacArthur, 1880-1964. Boston: Little, Brown, 1978. Print.
Matsui, Machiko. "Evolution of the Feminist Movement in Japan." NWSA Journal 2.3 (1990): 435-49. JSTOR. Web. 10 Feb. 2014. .
"Osaka's New Leader." Trends in Japan. N.p., n.d. Web. 24 April. 2017.
Paine, Thomas, and Isaac Kramnick. Common Sense. Harmondsworth Middlesex, England: Penguin, 1986. Print.
Parry, Melanie. Larousse Dictionary of Women. New York: Larousse, 1996. 220. Print.
Robins-Mowry, Dorothy The Hidden Sun: Women of Modern Japan (Boulder: Westview Press, 1983).
"Saboten Girl." Saboten Girl. N.p., n.d. Web. 24 April. 2017.
Supreme Court of Japan (1955) (enacted). Print.
Trager, James. Letters from Sachiko: A Japanese Woman's View of Life in the Land of the Economic Miracle. New York: Atheneum, 1982. 167. Print.
"Women in Parliaments Global Forum." Japan: House of Councillors. N.p., n.d. Web. 24 April.