"If You Don't Give Birth, What Makes You a Woman?"... Controversy Over Japanese Foreign Minister Hayashi's Campaign Remark

Withdrawal 'One Day After' Amid Controversy Over Remarks

A Japanese female minister retracted her statement within a day after causing controversy by saying during an election campaign, "If this person (the candidate) is not born by us women, then what is a woman?" local media including Kyodo News and Mainichi Shimbun reported on the 19th.

Kamigawa Yoko, Japanese Foreign Minister
Photo by AFP Yonhap News

Foreign Minister Kamikawa Yoko made the remark during a speech appealing for support for the candidate endorsed by the ruling Liberal Democratic Party ahead of the Shizuoka Prefecture gubernatorial election, held the previous day in Shizuoka City. Similar remarks were made during the election speech the day before. She said, "There is the pain of giving birth, but please do give birth." Although the phrase 'give birth' seemed to be used in the sense of hoping for the election of a new governor, it was also interpreted as referring to childbirth, sparking controversy.

Mainichi Shimbun analyzed, "Although the remark was intended to mean 'let's bring about a new governor,' there is a possibility of criticism for lacking consideration for those who find it difficult to give birth even if they want to."

Opposition Constitutional Democratic Party acting leader Osaka Seiji criticized the statement the previous day, saying, "It is an inappropriate remark that can be interpreted as saying women who do not have children are not women," and added, "It reveals the LDP's nature of opposing gender equality and the selective separate surname system for couples." The selective separate surname system allows couples to use different surnames. Currently, Japan requires couples to choose either the husband's or the wife's surname, with the majority of couples adopting the wife's surname. Japan is known as the only country that legally mandates couples to have the same surname.

As the controversy continued, Foreign Minister Kamikawa said on the morning of the same day, "I seriously accept the criticism that my remarks could be interpreted differently from my true intentions," and added, "I meant to say that we should harness women's power to bring about the election of a governor."

Foreign Minister Kamikawa is a member of the House of Representatives from the LDP representing Shizuoka Prefecture and has recently been mentioned as a potential candidate for the next prime minister. Regarding the recent visit of South Korean lawmakers to Dokdo, she protested, saying, "We perceive it as an infringement on our country's (Japan's) sovereignty. The forced landing is absolutely unacceptable and extremely regrettable."