These are the words of a male candidate for a seat in Japan's parliament. He eventually lost the 1996 race-to his female opponent. In Japan, breaking into the male stronghold of politics is hard work. But many of the nation's women have decided they will not shut up and they are running for public office. They insist on being a part of shaping tomorrow's Japan.
Japanese women are among the best educated in the world.
But in a 1995 international survey, Japan ranked 145th out of 161 countries for the proportion of women to men in parliament. But as women become more active and vocal, they continue to find resistance strong and national politics hard to break into. Women are still expected to stay at home and care for the house and children. They are expected to be modest and passive. And Japanese law still requires that married couples use one surname, which almost always means the man's.