｢女性｣と｢政治｣ “Women” and “Politics”

日本の政治は世界の人にはとてもわかりにくいと思う。アメリカに戻るとあれだけ首相が頻繁に変わっても日本人は大丈夫なのか、と聞かれるとどうにも答えがたい。そんな永田町で女性議員の政策担当秘書として15年勤め、今は｢女性｣と｢政治｣の２本軸で諸々な活動に取り組んでいる、同年代の女性がいる。きっと気が合うからと後輩を通じて紹介されたのが今年の春。それから懇意にさせてもらっている。

彼女は、永田町は男性しか政治に携わらないという前提で仕組まれているから、女性が働きづらい場所だという。でも人口の半分は女性なのだから、女性の代表者を増やして、女性の声がきちんと伝わるところにするべき、と主張する。

現在、彼女は今年開校した日本政策学校（http://j-policy.org/）の理事を務める。この学校は、広い視点から物事を考えられる次世代のリーダー育成を目標として、党派や業種を超えて講師を選んでいる。ただ、この政策学校でさえ最初の段階では、女性へのコミットメントが少ないように感じたらしい。自分の永田町で経験が役立つのならとこの任務を引き受けた。

彼女が強く説くのは、政治界でのダイバーシティ(多様性)の必要性である。今の政治家の構成を見わたすと、女性、20〜30代の人、障害者が少なすぎる。本来はいろいろなグループに属する人たちが政治に参加することにより、国民の声がより多く、より広い視点で届けられる。そして総括的な政策が作られるのだ、と。

その他にも｢女性｣をテーマの活動に多々参加している。大学院生の時に妊娠・出産し、ワーキングママとしてずっときたから今後の働く女性にとっても力強い味方だと思う。

話をしていると彼女の情熱と誠意に引き込まれる。｢311は起きてしまったし、少子化も逆戻りしないと思う。でもそれを受けとめて、日本が子供たちの誇りと思うような国になるために貢献したい、これからの10年はそのためなの｣という。こんな女性が政治の第一線にいてくれたら日本の株は大幅に上がるのに、と密かに思っているのは私だけではない気がする。

By ゆき子

Dinner at the Spice Rack Office

I am guessing that Japanese politics is very confusing to the rest of the world. When I am back in the States, I am asked whether the Japanese people are okay with so frequent a change in leadership. I never know what to say.

This year I was introduced to a woman who had been a policy secretary for a congresswoman for 15 years, and who is now a consultant in the field of “women” and “politics”. She is about my age, studied in the States on a Rotary Club scholarship after college and is a working mom. We are now good friends and the world of Japanese politics seems a little more approachable to me.

She says that Nagata-cho (the geographical center of Japanese politics) is set up under the assumption that men run government. Consequently it is a difficult place for women to work. However since half the population are women, she states that there has to be more women involved to appropriately represent our voice.

This year she began her tenure as a board member for the newly founded Japan School of Policy Making. (http://j-policy.org/) This school aims to bring up the next generation of political leaders who can think in broad based terms. For this they have a wide range of instructors from diverse professions. However, even at this school, she felt that there was a lack of commitment to women at first. She took on this position with the hope that her presence and experience will help other women take interest in politics.

What she strongly advocates is the need for diversity in the world of politics. When you look at the composition of those in office, there is clearly a lack of women, people in their 20s~30s and those with disabilities. She states that a comprehensive policy can only be made by having various groups represented and heard.

She is also involved in other organizations and activities that address rights for women. Getting pregnant and having a baby during her graduate school years and being a working mother ever since, she is a great person to have on our side.

“311 happened, and we will continue to have a declining birth rate. However, accepting this, I would like to do what I can so that Japan is a country which the children can be proud of. That is what my next 10 years are for.” Whenever I listen to her, I cannot but think that people’s faith in Japanese politics would increase if someone like her was in a leadership position. I am pretty confident that I'm not the only one.

By Yuki