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	<< Back "DAWN" Newsletter of The DAWN CENTER Gender Free Forum, 2000 "Talk about the 21st century for women and men in Naniwa" was held. November 9 Women's Summit Osaka Theme :   Toward a Gender-Equal Society in the 21st Century Panelists :   Fusae Ohta (Governor of Osaka Prefecture) Tamako Ohnishi (Chief of the Office for Gender Equality, Prime Minister' Office) Yoshiko Shiotani (Governor of Kumamoto Prefecture) Harue Kitamura (Mayor of Ashiya City, Hyogo Prefecture) Coordinator :   Takashi Kashima (Editor and Commentator of Nihon Keizai Shinbun) November 10 Section Meetings:   "Women and Work" "Education and Learning to Promote a Gender-Equal Society" "Violence Against Women" "Life-Long Health for Women" "Increasing Participation by Women in Policy Decision-Making Processes" General Meeting :   coordinated by Yoko Amakawa (Dawn Center Program Director) Women's Summit Osaka, 2000 More than 600 participants gathered in the panel discussion "Women's Summit Osaka" in the Gender Free Forum, 2000 (hosted by Osaka Prefecture and the Prime Minister's Office) held at the Dawn Center on November 9 and 10. The panelists were: Yoshiko Shiotani, who was elected governor of Kumamoto Prefecture in April, 2000; Ashiya City mayor Harue Kitamura, the first woman mayor in Japan; Tamako Ohnishi, chief of the Office for Gender Equality in Prime Minister's Office; and Osaka Prefecture governor Fusae Ohta, the first woman governor in Japan. During the panel discussion with its theme "Toward a Gender-Equal Society in the 21st century," Governor Shiotani talked about the importance of tackling women's issues from a human rights point of view, lack of information for those who have troubles, problems women faced in the agricultural prefecture, and an increase of women in the prefectural office. Mayor Kitamura pointed out that people maintained a gender-bias point of view in their daily lives while they were negative about sex role stereotypes, a contradiction which was disclosed in a survey of citizens' consciousness about gender. Mayor Kitamura then presented the city's efforts to increase participation by women in the city policy by setting up a city policy monitor system, hiring more women in the city office, and making a city plan with its citizens participating. Ms. Ohnishi reported the present situation of women's participation in politics, justice and administration, comparing Japan's gender-empowerment index with those of foreign countries. She contended enthusiastically that we should realize a gender-free society no matter how long it would take. Governor Ohta pointed out that gender-equal consciousness had not been deeply rooted in Japan's postwar socioeconomic system. She said that women must have the awareness that future change and reform would be of great significance for them. As a closing argument, stressing the importance of coorporation with non governmental organizations, and mentioning that women entrepreuneurs were increasing, governor Ohta called on the participants to form a new socioeconomic system which would support the NPOs and women. Page Top Copyright (C) 2007 DawnCenter. All Rights Reserved.