Overview

• Souhei Kamiya’s July 3 speech in Tokyo’s Ginza blamed rising numbers of working women for Japan’s low birthrate and declared gender equality policies a mistake.
• Lawyer Keiko Ota reports more than 130 protest gatherings between July 11 and 13, including about 100 participants at JR Kichijoji station and around 50 at JR Kawasaki on July 12.
• Protesters have denounced Kamiya’s rhetoric as fixing women’s roles to childbirth and men’s to work, calling instead for policies that allow those who wish to have children to do so.
• In follow-up speeches on July 12, Kamiya rejected accusations of misogyny, arguing his comments support a birth-friendly environment and highlighting Sanseitō’s record number of female candidates.
• Women’s rights organizations and legal experts warn that returning to traditional gender expectations could undermine decades of progress in equality as Japan faces ongoing demographic decline.