Feminist movements in contemporary Japan / Laura Dales.

"First published in 2009"--T.p. verso.

Includes bibliographical references and index.

Women, feminism and the family in contemporary Japan -- Feminism and non-government women's groups -- Feminism and bureaucracy : women's centres -- Feminism and erotica @ the Love Piece Club -- Feminism and the popular media (Haruka Yoko's feminism) -- Conclusion : feminist movements and feminist futures.

In contemporary Japan there is much ambivalence about women's roles, and the term 'feminism' is not widely recognized or considered relevant. Nonetheless, as this book shows, there is a flourishing feminist movement in contemporary Japan. The book investigates the features and effects of feminism in contemporary Japan, in non-government (NGO) women's groups, government-run women's centres and the individual activities of feminists Haruka Yoko and Kitahura Minori. Based on two years of fieldwork conducted in Japan and drawing on extensive interviews and ethnographic data, it argues that the work of individual activists and women's organisations in Japan promotes real and potential change to gender roles and expectations among Japanese women. It explores the ways that feminism is created, promoted and limited among Japanese women, and it advocates a broader construction of what the feminist movement is understood to be and a rethinking of the boundaries of feminist identification. It also addresses the impact of legislation, government bureaucracy, literature and the internet as avenues of feminist development, and it details the ways that these promote agency - the ability to act - among Japanese women. The book investigates the features and effects of feminism in contemporary Japan, in non-government (NGO) women's groups, government-run women's centres and the individual activities of feminists. Based on two years of fieldwork conducted in Japan and drawing on extensive interviews and ethnographic data, it argues that the work of individual activists and women's organisations in Japan promotes real and potential change to gender roles and expectations among Japanese women.