The history of women and gender in Japan

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Japanese Women call for removal of U.S. military bases
By Jim Genova, People's Weekly World, 10 February 1996. US bases in Japan in context of Japanese economy.
Discrimination against women to be banned
By Gwen Robinson, Labor News, 14 June 1997. Workplace discrimination will shift from being a ‘good effort’ requirement to a criminal offense, although the law lacks subtantial sanctions.
Single Mothers Dictate Their Own Terms
By Suvendrini Kakuchi, IPS, 8 April 1998. Japanese women seem to be getting less and less interested in marriage these days, but a good number of them still want to have children and have been going ahead to rear them as single mothers.
Women Still Shackled to the Home
By Suvendrini Kakuchi, IPS, 23 July 1998. Japan is far from the most progressive nation when it comes to women's status, but a new government report shows that the old obstacles to gender equality may even be more deeply rooted in society than earlier thought.
Gay clubs coming out for good times
By Aya Tatsuguchi, Special to the Mainichi Shimbun, Saturday 4 December 1999. Clubs for sexual minorities such as gays and lesbians are increasing throughout the nation's university campuses. Though there is a growing trend toward same-sex relationships, homosexual students felt there were limited opportunities for them to get together outside of school.
End of two-track system no help to women
By Kaho Shimizu, The Japan Times, Friday 24 October 2003. As the protracted economic slump prompts companies to shed the time-honored practices of lifetime employment and seniority-based wages, another victim of the cost-cutting ax is the two-track hiring system that has effectively kept women&s wages lower than men&s.