Deciphering Japan

Japan is Asia's first industrialised economy, yet it ranks 121, below Angola on the Gender Gap Index. Journalist Yumi Araki returns to Japan to explore what it means to be a woman in a society with an entrenched patriarchy. At a finishing school, it's back to basics with a crash course on becoming the perfect Japanese wife. But this prescribed rulebook that once guided the conduct of Japanese women is slowly being rewritten as Japan's society changes.

Yumi meets women who challenge the status quo by choosing career over marriage and others who are forging a new paths by breaking into male dominated industries. Women are no longer passive bystanders who are relegated to the interior of their homes and they are making their voices heard, especially in the face of injustice. Yumi participates in the Flower Demonstration and witnesses her most powerful rally, as women gather in solidarity to fight for gender equality.

Check out the rest of the Deciphering Series:

• Deciphering South Korea
• Deciphering India
• Deciphering The Philippines
• Deciphering Indonesia

Awards and Accolades: 

World Media Festival 2021 -

Documentaries: Society and Social Issues - Deciphering Japan: Being Japanese

New York Festivals TV & Films Awards 2021 -

Social Issues - Deciphering Japan (Win-Bronze)

Episodes: 4 x 60 minutes

Languages: English

Production year: 2020