I asked the women who voted for the first time 75 years ago, May 18, 18:52

"The percentage of female members in the parliaments of each country, Japan is 166th in the world."

I thought while listening to the unfortunate findings reported this spring.

It has been 75 years since Japanese women gained suffrage and voted for the first time in elections.

Back then and now.

What has changed and what hasn't changed?

I decided to talk to the women who cast one vote 75 years ago.

(Radio Center Kumiko Seko / Reporter of Social Affairs Department Nobuko Matsuda)

"I can't be fooled by words anymore" Yoko Morosawa (96)

"I don't really remember much."

I thought that the first vote would have been deeply emotional, and I got an unexpected answer.

Yoko Morosawa, 96 years old.

It is one of the women who voted in the first general election after the war on April 10, 1946.

Voting 75 years ago is 95 years old at the youngest.

While many people have already died or are sick, I searched past local newspapers and found an interview article with Mr. Morosawa.

The title is "Women's History Researcher".

Mr. Morosawa, who contacted us, talked about the time in a calm but clear tone.

"I'll tell you anything, please ask me."

What was the polling place like when you first voted?

The answer at the beginning was the answer to the first question.

"On that day, I was supposed to go to Tokyo to look for a job, so I packed up my backpack and went to the polling place. At that time, rice was more useful than money, so I got on the bus safely in Tokyo. I was wondering if I could go to. I remember that from the poll. "

On the other hand, I had a very clear memory of deciding where to vote.

Mr. Morosawa said that he was a military girl who wanted to fight on the battlefield.

After the end of the war, I had decided on my mind.

"Because I was fooled by the phrase,'War is for oriental peace,' I decided not to believe it, no matter how good it was after the war. What is the content of the word and what does it mean to me? How to live at my own risk became my post-war issue, so I listened directly to all the speeches of the candidates coming to the village and used the first vote. However, I thought that I couldn't vote without verifying how I lived. The most impressive thing was that some people were in prison during the war and couldn't bend their legs due to torture. I thought that this person would be able to enter. "

It is said that there was such a change when women gained suffrage.

"Until then, the candidates who said" Women's children "or" Women's habits "will become" women "only at the time of the election." Ladies, give me a clean vote. The man makes a speech. It's interesting, isn't it? It's not that the opinions of women have been positively reflected, but I think it can no longer be ignored. "

The first general election after the war on April 10, 1946.

Over 13 million women cast one vote.

The news at the time reported that women in monpe and kimono were lining up at polling stations around the world.

Suffrage was granted only to men who paid more than a certain amount of tax in 1902, and in 1918 the restrictions on the amount of tax paid were abolished and universal suffrage was realized for men.

However, regarding women, the New Women's Association was established around Fusae Ichikawa and Raicho Hiratsuka in the Taisho era, and a movement for suffrage was promoted, but it was not recognized easily.

It was after the end of the war that women finally gained suffrage.

It has been 20 years since the universal suffrage for men was realized.

After that, Mr. Morosawa, who started working in Tokyo, was waiting for an unexpected development.

At the invitation of a friend, I came to visit Fusae Ichikawa's home, and I decided to work as an editor of a magazine in an organization run by Ichikawa.

At that time, I didn't have any special thoughts about efforts to improve the status of women, but as I interacted with Fusae Ichikawa and Raicho Hiratsuka, I began to work as a women's history researcher. It was.

I am still writing books.

"My mother said,'I can't go to a place where I should go to a girls' school,' and I was told that going to a bride is a woman's happiness, but even if I look at my mother and the women around me, it's totally I didn't look happy. I didn't like a life where my spirit didn't shine. The government was obtained by my seniors who had a hard time demanding it. The world is full of discrimination, but only one vote is equal. . One vote for both men and women, the prime minister and I. It's a waste, if you abandon this precious thing. "

"It was a big turning point in my life" Tenseimaru Matsutani (98)

In the general election of 1946, when women voted for the first time, 39 women were born for the first time in the Diet.

All 39 of these have died, but eight years ago I had interviewed one of them.

This is Tenkoko Sonoda, who worked hard on the peace movement.

I remember being nervous in front of Mr. Sonoda, who was dignified in a kimono.

Mr. Sonoda died in 2015 at the age of 96, but I remembered that he had a younger sister who was three years younger.

I'm Tenhoshimaru Matsutani, now 98 years old.

Although he is a small person, I was surprised to hear that he lived with his sister Sonoda in his later years and was caring for his sister who had a better physique than himself.

75 years ago, Mr. Matsutani was 23 years old.

What did you feel when you were granted suffrage?

"It was a feeling of pride and some kind of joy that women have the same rights as men after gaining suffrage. It was a big turning point in my life."

When I asked her if she had voted, she answered with a laugh, "I forgot about it a long time ago."

Another thing I was interested in was the unique names of the two.

It was named by his parents, and his father had the idea that there was no difference between men and women before the war.

So what kind of person was Tenko Sonoda, the first female member of parliament?

"I loved and respected my sister. There was a kind of admiration for my sister, a politician, who had a novel job at the time. I've never heard of it. He was a very encouraging person. He was quiet at home and often talked to his sisters, "Your sister talks outside, so you can't talk at home."

He says that he became a member of parliament because of NHK radio.

After the end of the war, radio reported that many people were starving to death due to food shortages.

Mr. Sonoda went to Ueno station to see for himself and saw the tragedy.

When he told his father that he wanted to do something about it, he was advised to tell everyone what he had seen in Ueno and his thoughts.

"At that time, there wasn't a street speech yet, but my sister started giving a speech at the west exit of Shinjuku station. People who were impressed and listened to, people who felt like what a woman was saying, anyway, a lot of people gathered. Some people brought me the box saying, "I can't see my face, so get on the box." Every time I gave a speech, the number of people increased. A group was formed and I went to the parliament to petition. While doing such activities, my sister ran for the House of Representatives election. I was voicing. We were burning together and supporting my sister with the whole family. "

From Mr. Matsutani's story, the expectations for women at that time were conveyed.

However, the current situation is that the gender gap in the political world is almost the same as it was 75 years ago.

75 years ago, there were 39 female members of the House of Representatives, accounting for 8.4% of the total, but now there are 46, or 9.9%.

According to the IPU = Inter-Parliamentary Union, which is made up of members from all over the world, the ratio of women in the Japanese House of Representatives is 193, while the ratio of women in each country exceeds 25%, which is the highest ever. It is ranked 166th in the country.

How does Mr. Matsutani see this situation?

"I want women to be more interested in politics. Politics isn't just a single path named politics, it's all about politics. That's why it's important to recognize how the world works from your daily life. If you're dissatisfied or anxious about your life, how can you correct it? I think it will lead to the political path. "

Mr. Matsutani's older sister, Mr. Sonoda, is also a female parliamentarian who became pregnant and gave birth for the first time in the history of constitutionalism.

The love affair with former Foreign Minister Sunao Sonoda, who was a young member of the Diet at that time, became clear, and it became a hot topic as the so-called "chalk love".

The Diet member who gave birth after Mr. Sonoda was Seiko Hashimoto, the chairman of the Tokyo Organizing Committee for the Olympic and Paralympic Games, in 2000, 50 years later.

At that time, the maternity leave of parliamentarians was also discussed for the first time.

Even now, there are voices from active female parliamentarians pointing out the difficulty of coexisting with pregnancy, childbirth and childcare.

A turning point will come to Mr. Matsutani's own life, which supported his sister who became a member of parliament.

Mr. Matsutani said that he was forced to take medical treatment due to illness from his teens to his twenties.

After my sister got married and left home, she began to explore new paths.

When I was 30 years old, I entered the medical school of the university with the intention of becoming like "Mrs. Curie" that my mother read when I was little and wanting to learn about the illness that I was suffering from.

"When I was studying physiology as an assistant under a male professor of the same age, I was devoted to experiments, and sometimes I stayed in the laboratory or missed the last train and returned home by taxi. Since my house was the farthest away, my colleague's doctor sympathized with me and made a song, "Mr. Tenseimaru is one of the red points of physiology. I missed the last train tonight and broke up with Prince Seitoku. I did. "

After that, Mr. Matsutani was a professor in the Department of Developmental Physiology at Fujita Health University.

Three years ago, it became clear that several universities were improperly responding to the medical school of universities, such as scoring operations that would be disadvantageous to women and ronin.

What should we do to eliminate the gender gap and allow women to play an active role?

Mr. Matsutani says that the cooperation of men is indispensable.

"I have worked for many years, but even with the same abilities, men were promoted first. I feel that the society is still male-centered. Men support women to play an active role. It's important to do it. Men also have to wake up. "

Ale to women

I asked the same question to Ms. Morosawa, a female history researcher.

Morosawa points out that men have also been forced into roles.

"During the war, women worked to send men to the battlefield. If women kept their homes, men would be able to go to the battlefield without hesitation. Gender discrimination also had the role of sending men to the battlefield. I think so"

Morosawa continued, wondering if there is still a similar composition.

"Capitalism pursues profits. Women may not be able to make a full turn due to pregnancy and childbirth. So I think there is a mechanism to make women serve men in order to make them full turn. Even if it is said that it is equal, it is not equal in the actual situation of life. Although the number of working women has increased, there are many non-regular employment. A society that backs up women so that they can continue to work equally even if they become pregnant or give birth. I think it is essential to make

Under these circumstances, some people are prominently calling out to eliminate gender discrimination and promoting women's political participation.

Finally, Mr. Morosawa told the young women of today:

"The gender gap requires that women get rid of the contradictions they are putting on themselves. It's difficult for one person, but solidarity can be a big swell. I really appreciate it. I want to say thank you. "

It seems that the two people who spoke this time have never abstained from voting for 75 years.

We enjoy suffrage as a matter of course, but it made us think about the weight of this right again.

And we would like to continue the interview by accepting the ale from the two people as to how we can change the current situation where gender disparity and discrimination remain.

Radio Center

Kumiko Seko

Joined in 2005

Coverage of gender and minorities

Impressed by Mr. Matsutani's bamboo-like suppleness

Housework is shared fairly with her husband

Reporter of the Social Affairs Department

Nobuko Matsuda

Joined in 2008

Gender and climate change issues are the main topics of coverage

I met Mr. Morosawa and reaffirmed how valuable one vote is