Japan drops to 31st in 'Mothers' Index'

Thursday 08th May, 02:42 AM JST

TOKYO —

Japan was ranked 31st among 146 nations in an annual survey that helps document the best and worst places to be a mother, a nongovernmental organization said Wednesday, based on research by its U.S. affiliate.

In the “Mothers’ Index,” Japan ranked 14th in 2005, 12th in 2006 and 29th in 2007, but it fell to the lowest level this year as the ratio of women in the Diet was lower at 9% than that of other advanced nations and the wage gap between male and female workers is higher, according to Save the Children Japan. In Sweden, which came first on the list followed by Norway, Iceland and New Zealand, the ratio of female lawmakers came to 47%.

Latest 15 of 19 Total Comments Show All

Altria at 09:25 AM JST - 8th May

What does the number of female politicians have to do with the ease of being a mother?

Shouldn't they have surveyed things like the price of nappies instead?
GW at 10:21 AM JST - 8th May

altria

if you cant figure that out on yr own there is no way anyone here cud explain it to you........
nigelboy at 10:35 AM JST - 8th May

"according to Save the Children Japan"

And yet Japan is ranked 5th on the Children's Index on the same survey.
beavis at 11:21 AM JST - 8th May
jerseyboy rules!
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I'm surprised.  I would have thought Japan would be
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much lower on the list. and Save the Children Japan??? There's no such organization
cleo at 12:52 PM JST - 8th May

Save the Children Japan??? There's no such organization

Then who is it that keeps sending me newsletters and begging letters on a regular basis?

On topic, I suppose the safest place to become a mother is either Grenada or Greece, where the maternal mortality rate is 1 in 100,000. In Japan the number is 8 in 100,000. the world average is 207 per 100,000. The place not to become a mother is Central African Republic, where a whopping 1,100 per 100,000 die in childbirth.

Like Altria, I fail to see what the number of female Diet members has to do with the ease of being a mother. A decent standard of living, a clean, child-friendly environment, adequate health care and cheap nappies are much more important. Anyone who thinks male Diet members are unable to come up with the goods because they're male is surely succumbing to gender discrimination? Or am I missing the bit where it was proved that being a lawmaker was essential to being a good mother?
MichaelJP at 01:41 PM JST - 8th May

Is this the MILF index? Are there videos so I can judge for myself?
DeepAir65 at 04:02 PM JST - 8th May

not too shabby - suprised that Japan is that high up the list
LFRAgain at 04:05 PM JST - 8th May

Altria and Cleo,

I think the idea is that societies that make it easier for not just women, but specifically mothers, to participate at the highest levels of the political process (or any leadership position), are more "friendly" to women who simultaneously raise children. Simply put, having children should not disqualify a woman from being able to lead politically and I would agree with that criteria.

To be honest, considering some current politicians in the highest levels of Japanese government consider procreation women's solitary purpose for existing, I'm genuinely suprised Japan isn't lower in these rankings.
cleo at 04:23 PM JST - 8th May

I think the idea is that societies that make it easier for not just women, but specifically mothers, to participate at the highest levels of the political process (or any leadership position), are more "friendly" to women who simultaneously raise children

Well that may be the idea, but personally I'm not buying it.

Having raised two of my own, I have to admit that I don't want the country run by someone who thinks it's OK to leave Junior with a babyminder while Mum is debating the petrol tax till the early hours.

A 'Mothers Index' should give credit to countries where mothers are able to give their full attention to Junior, not countries where being a mother is seen as a part-time job and any mother who doesn't make million-dollar deals as she purees the baby food is somehow a failure.
LFRAgain at 05:54 PM JST - 8th May

Or countries where it isn't just assumed that the mother MUST be the caregiver at home, ignoring entirely the possiblity that the father is perfectly capable of doing the same job.
cleo at 08:33 PM JST - 8th May

I can understand a father wanting to stay at home and look after his kids. I can't understand a mother wanting to leave her kids with someone else (even their doting father) while she goes and sits at a desk in an office. (Family finances may leave her with no alternative, of course. But it's not ideal.) Of course, the family arrangements should be left up to the people involved. In most cases I think that would boil down to Mum looking after the kids - not because society expects it of her, but because heck, what's the point of going through 9 teetotal months of carrying several extra kilos around, getting kicked black and blue from inside and hours and hours of labour, if someone else is going to get all the fun afterwards?. Which brings us back to my initial point, that I don't see how a country with lots of working mothers can be high on the 'Mothers Index'.
Azrael at 09:06 PM JST - 8th May

Hey my mother is a Civil Engineer; a successful one and she raised four daughters, all happy professionals today. My father and my mother have a happy marriage (I hope to have one like theirs!) and she is not an Alien. She is wonderful of course, but that runs in the family ;]. Same story for most of my friends. I just don't understand why some people find that extraordinary - I only met people thinking that way in Japan (and far more on JT than on the streets of Japan!).

Plus, living on one salary is a luxury most people can't afford nowadays.
Azrael at 09:18 PM JST - 8th May

I guess it's a cultural thing... I met a professor from Sri-Lanka but based on New Zealand during an international seminar here in Japan; he thought I was from India (I am not). He asked me about my background studies, and family and culture came up in the conversation. He was amused; he said, if my father were Sri Lankan he would have been in a desperate state of ruin for having four daughters. He then praised my parents.

I guess in the same way, people in other societies cannot fathom how a woman can work and raise children at the same time. It might be something they have not experienced or simply, a role their society refuses to give to women (whether they want it or not). I think those who have mentioned the "salary men defending their turf" do have a point. If people cannot realize how the number of women in high positions speaks about how mother-friendly a country is, it must be because they have never thought about it. Perhaps they find working mothers "unnatural."

I come from a land in which the system is not perfect, but it is way different. Women don't shy away from working outside the home, and no one applies peer-pressure on them to stay at home once they give birth (plus basically no one can afford it). I look around here and I am perplexed by how women are treated second-class. They cannot see it, but I do - because I've lived in a different place. Women being condescended to, treated like mere decoration and being intimidated by OTHER WOMEN if they excel in their field - because success is not "feminine" in Japan. Ah, and if anyone points out, raising a family and working is another form of success... be prepared to burn alive! c.c; It's astounding.
medievaltimes at 10:28 AM JST - 9th May

I dont care if Japan ranked 5th or 105th on this index. From what I have seen in Japan, it is clearly an unfortunate place to be a mother (or a woman for that matter).
rjd_jr at 10:00 PM JST - 10th May

Judging by the mature remarks on this thread and others regarding Jp women, I'm surprised the U.S. and a few other 'western nations' ranks so high on this index.