ECPR

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ECPR

Install the app

Install this application on your home screen for quick and easy access when you’re on the go.

Just tap Share then “Add to Home Screen”

Representing Gender/Diversity in Disaster Politics and Policy: The Critical Mass/Critical Acts of the "Japan Women's Network on Disaster Risk Reduction"

Citizenship
Gender
Political Participation
Public Policy
Representation
Women
Feminism

Abstract

The triple disaster of the Tohoku earthquake, tsunami and nuclear meltdown has been the cause of tragic destruction, loss and trauma for the affected communities, and particularly for Japanese women in Tohoku. At the same time, this moment in Japan’s history has created unique windows of opportunity for deepened democratization, critical thinking about gender, diversity, vulnerability and resilience, notably for civil society NGOs and women’s activism in Tohoku reconstruction and disaster risk reduction strategies. Leading feminist demands for the integration of gender equality and the recognition of women’s diverse needs, this paper presents the political and law reform activism of the "Japan Women’s Network on Disaster Risk Reduction" from 2011 to 2015. I argue that a critical mass of Japanese women’s organizations have successfully mobilized into an effective feminist DRR coalition due in large part to the critical acts of political representation by former Governor of Chiba, Ms. Akiko Domoto. A former journalist, parliamentarian, and former national party leader, Domoto’s ability to represent the Network with diverse tactics, discursive contestation, and soft/hard power has yielded results both inside and outside parliamentary political circles. The outcome has been enhanced access, voice, and impact of diverse Japanese women within a very traditionally male-dominated sphere of disaster policy, national disaster management politics, as well as in the emergent UN-ISDR multilateral agreement on DRR.