Abolish it and be done with it. The modern world does not need a monarchy.
4
If it's a 1500 years tradition that doesn't harm anybody, let them keep it. Why should the wife watch it? Imperial family has a unique rule just like every other families have unique rules. Are women in Japan less happy than women in USA or Europe? I don't know. I don't think so.
7
Maybe he doesn’t want his wife seeing him get his ceremonial pearl necklace. I think it’s fair game to pick fun at ridiculous customs.
4
I only want to say: I think "Shinzo Abe" is the coolest sounding name ever.
9
It took two atomic bombs and the threat of Soviet invasion to convince the Japanese people that literally worshipping their emperor as a living God was an untenable course. I doubt whiney articles decrying their severe lack of wokeness in the face of certain dogmas held and spread by gender studies "scholars" is going to have much effect on them.
12
"Good grief" springs to mind.
5
The conservatives are being a bit hypocritical given that the Japanese royal family traces its descent from a FEMALE deity, Amaterasu, the Sun Goddess and most sacred of the Shinto deities, who gave her grandson, Ninigi, the sword Kusanagi, the mirror Yata no Kagami, and the jewel Yasakani no Magatama, which he gave to his grandson, the Emperor Jimmu, and which signify that the Emperor is the descendant of Amaterasu herself. By the conservatives' reasoning, the entire lineage is illegitimate.
19
Just wondering... why do non-Japanese citizens have any right to be commenting on how the Japanese monarchy is run? Must we stick our noses in everyone’s business, even though we can’t take care of our own affairs?
24
Crown Prince Haakon is first in line to succeed to the Norwegian throne.
2
Thank you for this piece. Having lived in Japan, I know that Japanese people care about how they are seen by the world, and this article takes a measured approach to describing some of the gender imbalances while noting that they are not consistent even with Japanese traditions (the female emperors of history), and then talking about the pressure upon the monarchy imposed by these imbalances. I found the piece to be a respectful attempt to present how the West might be noting the present abdication and new era, and I think that journalism like this helps international understanding.
16
I was in Tokyo when Princess Aiko was born. Everyone spoke about how she would not be eligible to reign. It didn’t surprise me. Women of a certain age still hobble along in kimonos. Brooms have two-and-a-half foot handles to bend women to the work of sweeping, and I had seen any number of women get up and offer their seats to men on public transportation. Friends in Japan tell me it still goes on. But, the food is divine and the people quiet and polite in public.
9
@Ameise
>Women of a certain age still hobble along in kimonos
Women of all ages wear kimonos for special occasions and events, unless you refer to the maiko in Kyoto - who are entertainers.
>Brooms have two-and-a-half foot handles to bend women to the work of sweeping
Both men and women use such brooms, though less frequently as of late because they’re not very efficient.
>and I had seen any number of women get up and offer their seats to men on public transportation
Both men and women do so for the seniors.
I don’t know how long it has been since you last visited Japan nor which part of the country your friends live, but your image of Tokyo at least comes across as outdated.
11
Great Britain, that most stodgy of governments, amended its law to allow for female accession to the throne if the eldest heir is female rather than male. Japan would do well do look West for inspiration.
10
Excellent! I do like and appreciate traditions, especially when they go against the PC grain that is killing free speech and thought in the USA. Women are not allowed to step foot in the Sumo Dohyo either, nice to see a culture with roots staying the course. And for the record, I recognize that both of these limits cause women absolutely ZERO harm.
4
Well, then. How valuable is the uterus of the Woman versus the value of the Woman as a human being. Dynasties rely on procreation. And from whom do we need to build societies? You guessed it, from the Woman.
15
Posted below:
>>> "If women are completely excluded from the royal lineage there should be no emperor at all. Traditions that enforce inequality must end, no matter their sentimental value."
Right. Let's move toward greater equality by permitting a tiny handful of women to be "more fully royal."
Irony is dead.
5
This article is from a Western perspective. People in Japan, both men and women, do not engage in identity and gender politics for the most part. In other words, they will focus on the meaning of the monarchy and its importance as a unifying force for Japan. They won't take this otherwise historical event and turn it into a chance to bash society or the government. As I engage with Japanese in the town I live in near Tokyo, it is refreshing to see them share in this together and celebrate their new emperor and empress.
8
Apropos of the article's ending: It's too late to worry about the politicization of the Imperial Family. It's been going on for a long time.
The Japan Communist Party insists on abolishing the Imperial Household. The ruling party controls the Household's affairs, while longing for a 1930s-style pliable puppet (or else militarist, depending on which narrative you buy into). Both sides treat the current Imperials with disdain. The reactionary insistence on excluding Masako-san -- a perfect example of what historian Eric Hobsbawm called an "invented tradition," created only in the late 19th Century -- is one example. Another is the suggestion that the Crown Prince's brother was illegitimately "intervening in politics" when he proposed that the nation could save money on the investiture ceremony -- in lieu of the spectacle desired by the PM.
Ironically, the Heisei Emperor and Empress Michiko have been rock-steady champions of democracy in Japan. Their understanding of democracy far exceeds that of most members of the national parliament. The Empress especially has taken pains to point out that democratic ideals have been shared by Japanese people since at least the 19th Century, and aren't at all a foreign imposition, as some of the PM's top advisers and even his own party have claimed. Her birthday comments have often sent zingers of rebuke flying way over PM Abe's head. One can only hope her son will carry on in her tradition.
13
@A.J. Sutter -- "The ruling party controls the Household's affairs, while longing for a 1930s-style pliable puppet"
During an attempted military coup in 1936, Emperor Hirohito became openly impatient, and threatened to personally lead the Imperial Guard Division into the street. His personal intervention helped end the "government by assassination" that had been run by a group of officers for some years. This is often called the "Feb 26 incident."
After trials and many convictions, 19 men were executed by firing squad. This was serious.
1
Ultranationalists' imprints on the Heisei/Reiwa transition are deep. As the Asahi Shimbun reports, Abe added "Reiwa" to the list of candidates in the last phase. Abe's nationalists are funding transition ceremonies from tax funds, over the objections of the Emperor and the Crown Prince. Will younger Japanese see in "Reiwa" its regimented harmony and rebel, or embrace it?
1
During the debate over what to do about the male succession, it was recommended by one highly placed imperial family member that concubinage be dusted off and brought back as an imperial prerogative. That didn't go over well. It was certainly the custom during ancient times, a sort of insurance against a lineage dying out, but this is the 21st century. It was hard enough for Masako to be forced to give up her high position in the Foreign Ministry, but forcing her to acquiesce to such an arrangement as well is an unimaginably horrible thought. It is to the Crown Prince's credit that he slapped down that idea because it's just as well if the succession goes through his brother and then his nephew.
10
@John Bockman -- The Emperor Meiji, ruled from February 3, 1867 – July 30, 1912, had concubines. That is hardly "ancient."
Few royal families have ever lasted 10 generations, and the Japanese have done 125 (they say). Concubines were a part of that, to maintain the line. It may offend the 21st Century sensibility, but it is what happened.
2
It seems not to have been mentioned that Princess Masako was a member of the Harvard class of 1985, which my son was also a member of. I read her paragraph contribution to their 25th reunion book -- it was a beautiful piece of writing.
21
Welcome to the darkness of 1500, chrysanthemums or not.
16
As a citizen of a constitutional monarchy (at least for now), I have no use for the institution of monarchy. I doubt more than one in a hundred monarchs in history have been even merely competent, much less actually enlightened.
If a country is stuck with a monarchy, its only justification would be to have the throne occupied by someone who represents and embodies the highest and best values of the people. In the case of Japan, I am not sure whether institutional misogyny means the emperor does not reflect his people, or that his people (or at least his male people) have a long way to come in gender equality.
That said, I strongly agree with those who applaud Japan's deeply civilized society. It would be a mistake, however, to argue that it is civilized because it is traditional, or a tradition of gender inequality is justified by its other very commendable virtues.
6
It's not diminished status. It's the way this ceremony has ALWAYS been.
10
@Moehoward - Except for those times when there were female emperors, Lol.
2
@Colin Smith -- The records of some are a bit hazy, but it seems that the women emperors were place holders for male children. The emperor went back to the male line once one was available. Or so they say.
1
Without the emperor's wife, there won't be any more emperors.
Hmmm......
30
In an age where societal practice must either make sense or else it must be discarded or discontinued, I enjoy hearing about viable irrational institutions.
7
If women are completely excluded from the royal lineage there should be no emperor at all. Traditions that enforce inequality must end, no matter their sentimental value. At stake is the permanent subjugation of half the people.
20
@Casey Penk - Another glaring irony is that Japan has had six female emperors...
3
Tradition eventually leads to rot. Japan is there. The US is young but rotting quickly.
13
The entire institution of the emperor is an out-of-date cultural bygone. If we are going to argue against blindly hewing to tradition, why stop with allowing female succession? Why not just take the logical next step and get rid of the whole anachronistic nonsense?
"Because it's tradition!" is a terrible argument for anything. But it's arguably even more flawed to pick and choose when you say "because it's tradition!" and when you don't.
7
I expect most Americans are unaware of how deeply gendered, and deeply traditional modern Japanese society remains.
The West doesn't function anymore, possibly because the West has venomously, radically discarded everything traditional, without regard to the functionality, practicality and wisdom of many traditions.
Japan values the Japanese language, traditional artisanship, and order and perfection in design, execution and everyday life. Japan is not a throw-away culture. The division of labor and roles between men and women is embedded in the culture. And it is a pretty amazing culture if you only take the time and have the humility to appreciate it.
Go to Japan. Watch the subways and the high-speed trains function. See the absence of homeless people and the absence of crime and poverty. See a society that doesn't need lawyers to operate.
When New York City and the United States can match the functionality of Japanese society, then the Times and foreigners can criticize Japan and Japanese ways.
50
@Frank it's amazing for the MEN. For the women, not so much.
108
@Frank All true, it is a very safe and clean country but also a society that has separate cemeteries for women because they choose not to be buried with their husbands which says it all.
57
@Frank
I've seen pictures of tent cities for the homeless. The article stressed how clean the tents were kept.
Japan also has an imbalance in aging Japanese and young people to care for them.
When you say "the West doesn't function anymore", what exactly are you referring to?
32
It would be nice if the NY Times mentioned that Empress Masako was a student in the NYC public school system for a while She was in my sister's class in PS 81 in the northwest Bronx back in the mid-1970s. A number of Japanese diplomats lived in the area and sent their children to the public school.
70
The ceremonies to be performed come from Shinto, a religion that involves a strong sense of taboo. Sacred items are not exposed to public gaze and access to them is strictly limited. Shinto priests are strictly male, though there are Shrine Maidens that perform dances, etc. for the deities hidden away in the interior.
Eastern Orthodox churches also have some aspects of this with certain rituals being conducted the behind the closed doors of the iconostasis screen.
18
@David But women are not allowed behind the iconostatis either.
6
@Madrugada Mistral -
No members of the laity, male or female, are allowed.
1
@David - Yes, the taboo on women in Shinto is strong. So strong in fact that there have been 6 female emperors in Japanese history. Lol.
3
Such an annoying headline. Why can't the Japanese have their own traditions? Why should they be expected to observe American norms of "gender equality" and/or roles in marriage?
39
@Grace Hoffmann
Women should be equal to men in every country. It appears that the true ancient traditions of Japan (as stated in the article) did respect women. They probably adopted the misogyny from Europeans during the 19th century.
8
@Grace Hoffmann - They do have their own traditions. The tradition of Japan's imperial line includes six female emperors.
9
Half our population votes for a man who is a confirmed racist and has not paid taxes in years, and our religious right leaders are in love with a man who is a confirmed molester.
Are we in a position to criticize the Japanese people?
114
Royals in western countries do some charitable work and have official events. In Japan from what I've read, even modest royal efforts to draw attention to any social cause (like helping poor children) is seen as an offense against the society and weighing in on social/political issues. How much flower arranging and kimono-selecting can a grown, intelligent woman take??? From what others have researched, Masako was beaten down by a virulently anti-commoner household staff who seem to have not been able to absorb any 20th century scientific literature, and who blamed her for having a female child, as well as for being "not one of us." Seems like new emperor could do a great thing and retire a bunch of the old royal household staff -- sort of like what Meghan is doing over in England. Time for change, or time to go extinct.
28
Under Abe's LDP, Japan has accelerated in its conservatism.
Two faced approach to women in the workforce - more work/ less pay.
Reviving prewar ideal of patriarchal society.
Denying Japan's invasions of Asian countries in WW2.
Denying Japan's involvement in sex slaves in WW2.
Accelerating wealth inequality.
Abe is the Japanese version of Trump - a product of the selfish populism.
We must all stand firm for the freedom and equality for all.
21
Demise of a nation/culture often comes from internal forces as opposed to outsiders. I do not identify as a feminist, but Japan's traditional treatment of women is clearly a road for self ruin.
8
The whole issue is nonsensical. Instead of arguing whether women should have increased power we should be arguing whether the Imperial system should exist in the first place. Of course, that's for the Japanese to decide but the point still stands.
It's the same sort of mindset as these articles decrying that there aren't enough women who are moguls instead of... you know, decrying there is such an insane accumulation of wealth and power that makes democracy largely meaningless.
It's the same mindset that has lead to the vision of liberalism taking over the world after the fall of Communism being completely discredited. Bandaid solutions that don't solve the underlying problem.
7
someone should also hand him a list of the brave US infantrymen that died during the Bataan Death March, to remind him of the "honor" of his grand father.
10
@MoneyRules
Why?
Unless he is his grandfather, the result of an insane cloning experiment and mind-transfer technology?!!?
No? Not that?
Okay. Why would you be handing him this list, then? Is he supposed to be wracked with guilt over stuff that happened before he was born?
If someone handed _you_ a list with the names of slaves or dead native americans, would you clutch your chest, go "aargh" and fall to your knees in despair over the sins of your father, which you hitherto never considered? Unlikely.
11
For the sake of the Japanese people, Masako should attend this ceremony as should her daughter; to do otherwise is trying to turn back time --by centuries. Royal Household - get with the program!
17
The Japanese clearly are not taking Game of Thrones to heart.
Who's better than Daenerys for taking over the Iron Throne? A woman (okay, yes, with a dragon or two), but certainly more emperor-like than wishy-washy Jon Snow.
I imagine Cersei will soon need another job, if she's still living, but she seems ill suited for the Chrysanthemum Throne.
3
@DD -
Huh? What are you talking about? Please explain your references.
1
Reform or extinction. Who could have guessed ?
Seriously.
8
Akihito has any real power, he should invite Princess Masako to her husband's enthronement and insist she come.
The emperor is largely symbolic but still very powerful - a voice for civility, much like England's royals. Japan's birth rate is so low that it doesn't even replace its current population - good to fight global warming but not good for its economy.
Japanese women have to swim up stream to be successful financially and politically. Women hold up half the world and should rule accordingly.
The most brilliant English rulers of the past 500 years (history is not to clear before then) include Elizabeth 1 and 2, among the best leaders of history. They both ruled during extremely challenging political, intellectual, and artistic periods now recognized as golden eras.
Elizabeth 1, deliberately single and childless - kept a male from ever having any power over her after her father's death. She was a brilliant politician and marketeer. Her father King Henry VIII had beheaded her mother! One of her early challenges was to lead troops as England destroyed the "invincible" Spanish Armada, to become the world's greatest navy. England founded its largest colonies and spread its politics and language around the world, including the United States. Australia, and New Zealand. Shakespeare and other Elizabeths wrote politically perceptive, exquisite verse ever written since the ancient Greeks (whose pantheon included two powerful women, Hera and Athena)
23
Imperial princesses lose their status when they marry *commoners,* but they would be able to keep their status if they married another prince. There just aren't that many choices available in the latter category...
14
Americans have no other problems to worry about in their own country? Japanese people live more, better and happier than Americans, and neither do they pretend to tell other countries what to do with their customs and traditions.
35
@Marie Condo, if referring to the interviewees in the article, well they are specialists involved in, or studying Japan in some capacity. Given this is an English language periodical, suspect the journalist reached out to those experts who spoke English. I also suspect that Masako Egawa, Lully Miura, Kumiko Nemoto, etc. are Japanese.
4
So much focus on Japanese Tradition and yet in the photos of the current emperor and his successor, they are wearing western clothing. Those tuxedos, maybe those are called morning jackets in that style, are very European! ha!
17
Masako should just walk into the ceremony and dare anyone, within earshot of her about-to-be-Emperor husband, to tell her that she can't be there.
19
Odd that the emperors of Japan are descendants of a Goddess.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Amaterasu
Does SHE approve of their discrimination against women?
29
@Pecan Julius Caesar claimed his family clan descended from Venus ... sounds all very antiquarian
4
Do you know what would be a good solution for gender discrimination in the Japanese royal family?
Getting rid of royalty. I solved that in about 7 seconds. Japan, let me know what other problems you have that need fixing.
24
Today's royalty are descendants of yesterday's murderers and warlords. Why do we infuse them with some kind of special status?
13
@Cantaloupe That's not technically true. Tojo and his henchmen were the power in WW2 Japan, not the emperor. Those guys were convicted of war crimes and executed. The reason those countries hang on to their monarchies is tradition and a continuity with their own history. It seems odd to us Americans because of our own history.
8
@Steven
Read more history. Emperor Hirohito was very much involved in WWII, and we let Tojo et al take the fall.
12
What a petty piece of journalism. Meanwhile, in Saudi Arabia, all women are kept under the thumb of men by strict rule of law, unable to go outside, travel, work or do any activity without male approval, passports controlled by apps on men's phones. (Wanna complain about that?)
Articles like this draw attention to small points to denigrate a country and culture. Underscored, we see, by using quotes from foreigners in those countries.
Go ahead and criticize. We'll acknowledge Japan's shortfalls and say - for a country the size of California with almost half the population of the US - they're doing a better job than the US has recently.
26
@JohnBarleycorn What is with the "what about ism?" Not sure the article is denigrating a country and culture? Otherwise, looks like Japanese were interviewed in the article too.
6
Maybe it'll be leaked to YouTube.
6
Well, historically speaking, a queen without a king is usually more powerful. If Princess Aiko became Empress Aiko, one wonders how much better Japan would fare.
5
I have noticed that many people utterly fawn upon the positive aspects of Japanese culture - so polite, so clean, safe and peaceful, artistic, all true - but can’t or refuse to acknowledge the darker side most foreigners never have to experience (unless you are an Asian female): that women are still treated as second-class citizens. (not to mention its racist attitudes towards other Asians)
Of course, this is the case of the great majority of the world, even those considered ‘advanced’. It just creates a cognitive dissonance in a society that appears so ideal. Presumably the article tries to point this out by noting that even women who might be expected to have more power than others, in fact, do not.
Then again, why would anyone be surprised, given that monarchies are as conservative an institution as any, and that the primary role of a future British queen (thae position many Americans seem most absorbed with) is to conceive an heir ?
10
@ml The Japanese believe that they are superior to everybody else.
6
As do Americans.
11
All state sanctioned monarchies should be abolished. If a “royal family” wants to keep up the pretense, they can do it on their own dime.
13
Imagine if the Brits had won the war and the “United States” did not exist as we know it, the current problem of the President defying Congress would not exist. We would have a real monarch instead of a pretend one.
13
This article seems to be admonishing a culture for not being hip enough to include women. Essentially the author said ‘see, the Europeans are doing it, why aren’t you?’ The statement made that male-dominated monarchy is a modern invention is also ludicrous and ignores the past few thousand years of history. Men have almost always dominated politics, women only step in when the situation is extreme or if they decide they would do a better job (or if the lines were matrilineal like many Native American tribes). This sounds more like a veiled far-left admonishing of Japanese imperial culture (racism anyone?) for not being enlightened. That being said, I don’t see a non-cultural reason for why women can’t be a part of the line of succession, and it would really only benefit the imperial family with greater options for an heir. At the same time, I don’t presume to tell them what they should do- it’s their family after all!
11
In a changing world, traditions must also change. In some cultures, honor killing of women is allowed. That is the tradition. A dishonorable tradition.
I hold disbarring women from inheriting the throne as a dishonorable tradition.
35
we can't even elect a woman, or better yet, get the electoral college to vote for one.
50
@xyz
No, we can’t elect a corrupt woman.
We haven’t had an honest woman at the top of a ticket yet.
3
Interesting how the article cites the Meiji era in terms of defining the "place or role" of women in the Imperial Family but failed to mention the U.S. role AND MacArthur's act of further removing women from succession.
"The post-war constitution stripped the emperor of all power and took away most of the imperial family's possessions.
Even the size of the family was strictly limited. For instance, Emperor Akihito's daughter, Princess Mako, will become a commoner when she marries."
20
The hard fact is that Japanese society as a whole, and not just the imperial line of succession, is facing extinction. How can Japan continue to ignore the fact that they will lose almost a third - ONE THIRD! - of their population by 2065? It's one thing to hold onto traditions and honor them and it's quite another to survive as a modern country in the 21st Century. The situation with the Imperial Household is just the tip of an iceberg that is quickly melting away and in Japan, social change moves about as fast as it does inside the Vatican (meaning like a glacier). The country's leaders should be tackling aggressively how to promote healthy and sustainable population growth by addressing inequalities between the sexes that have existed for centuries. It's not alarmist to say that time is running out because the numbers confirm this themselves. As to what's being done to address inequalities within Japanese society by a weak political class, alas one can conclude that very little is happening that will provide the sort of systemic changes needed to rejuvenate a society that is on the path to extinction.
56
@ManhattanWilliam Japan is a far more modern country than the US. What other country can a woman walk down a dark, deserted 4 foot wide alleyway at 3:00am and not have any fear at all? What other country in the world bans carrying knives 2" or larger unless you have proof that you need it for work? The safest country is also the cleanest country; you'd be hard pressed to walk a mile in Tokyo or Osaka and see one tiny scrap of litter - try that in New York or any other US city. It's not just their traditions they have pride for, they also have pride in their society and their land.
18
@ManhattanWilliam Japan doesn't need to do anything that you have said they need to; the Japanese people will do what they believe they need to do regarding their own society.
Why in the world are you getting so worked up about this, anyways?
8
@ManhattanWilliam Social change in Japan moves like a pre-climate change glacier.
5
Japan had female emperors in the past. It is reasonable to wonder what happened. Today’s Japanese women are more constrained by family and cultural traditions and expectations than other Asian countries. Why is that? Their birth rates are amongst the lowest in the world. Why don’t they want to have children? Or get married? Why is that?
67
@Susan Goldstein They don't want to get married because women don't want to be servants of man who are often not as smart as they are. I don't blame them for choosing to remain single. It is a better option than being an object.
29
@Susan Goldstein Because many Japanese women don't see any advantage to having children or getting married.
29
Women have diminished status across the entire society. It was the one blemish on an otherwise wonderful 10 week visit some years ago.
34
Are we really complaining that a rigged system against humanity is also rigged against women? Are you kidding me?! This is a monarchy. It is abhorrent to humanity....that someone can be *born* better and live above all others. By birth. And to this abhorrence you claim his wife, and women in general, are being treated unfairly! We're all being treated unfairly by a disgusting and vile stain upon humanity. I don't know...are we next going to complain Southern Belles were also excluded from lynchings by the KKK? You can't make this stuff up...... But go ahead, go fight for the rights of all humans to participate in and lend credibility to a crime upon humanity.
21
@Curt J. Please seek more information about monarchies. The Commonwealth realms (Canada, Auz, UK et al) have a monarch in whom all executive power resides. However, that power may now only be exercised on the advice and guidance of her ministers. That is, there is just about nothing she can do in her own right but consult, advise and caution the politicians - tyrannical powers, eh?
The nod to changing times is the 'recent' agreement that succession is now to be determined by strict primogenitor (birth order) and no longer male primogenitor (boys before older girls).
Please enjoy your imperial presidency,
-Canada
6
I cannot help noticing that the critiques come from non-Japanese people save the data from Asahi Shimbun. Particularly Ms. Snow's observation, "They are forgetting how this is going to play internationally" seems a bit absurd.
Unless the press decides to focus exclusively on this rather minor point, I doubt that most abroad will notice or care whether Masako is present at the enthroning. Thereafter, she is likely to be as involved imperial affairs as Melania Trump is with governance.
It is unclear to me why folks from without Japanese culture need tell the Japanese how they ought to be running their ceremonial (and indeed the emperor's role is purely ceremonial) affairs.
In poor taste this piece.
63
Freedom of speech crosses the in poor taste threshold quite often.
I’m looking forward to the day when this thinly veiled patriarchal comment will be seen as being in poor taste.
59
@Yann It's a 2600 year old Imperial monarchy under a single household. The oldest in the world pre-dating even the Pope. So I don't think it is as simple of a thing as many Americans think, and acting on this tradition, one that is held in high regard, almost religiously even by women of Japan, isn't something that most Japanese will prefer to activate against.
17
@Yann
Since you said it was unclear.
For the sake of clarification, every culture on the face of the planet is now under observation and being criticized from points of view that may, or may not, be understanding or fair.
While cultural understanding may be desirable, it cannot be assumed.
There are just too many cultures being examined for any one culture to expect to make itself an exception to the rule of observation and criticism.
9
IMHO Japan (and other ‘King’doms) should NOT allow women to succeed. That way the ‘royalty’ will die out, no more bowing and scraping.
23