Gender Equality Symposium
On October 29th, JMWA released the 14th Gender Equality Symposium “Never Give Up” on YouTube. (Fig.1)
The speaker of the special lecture was Ms. Atsuko Muraki, a Former Vice-Minister of Health, Labour and Welfare. In June 2009, she was arrested on suspicion of preparing and using false official documents for issuing a false certificate to a self-proclaimed organization for the disabled and illegally sending out direct mail at a discounted postage rate, when she was Director of the Planning Division, Department of Disability Health and Welfare, Social Welfare Bureau, Ministry of Health, Labor and Welfare. This was a false conviction case, and on September 10, 2010, the Osaka District Court acquitted Muraki, who had pleaded not guilty. On September 21, 2010, the Osaka District Public Prosecutors Office waived its right of appeal. The acquittal by the lower court became a final judgment, and on July 2, 2013, she was appointed as the Administrative Vice Minister of Health, Labor and Welfare. She is the second woman in 16 years to be appointed as Administrative Vice Minister in Japan.
Based on her experience, she gave a lecture on the importance of never giving up in order for women to continue working.
Fig. 1: From left to right: Board member Masami Aoki M.D., speaker Atsuko Muraki, President Tomoko Otani M.D., and Past President Yoshiko Maeda M.D.
Longevity and Social Welfare Services Online Seminar
JMWA established the “Longevity and Social Welfare Committee” in 2006 in order to solve the problems of the super-aging society from a medical perspective, and has given lectures on health issues related to the elderly, such as dementia, eye diseases, hearing loss, sarcopenia, and skin diseases. On November 27, 2021, we held a web lecture by a neurology specialist titled “Sleep Disorders in the elderly persons“.
National Plans for CSW
As a member of the NGO International Women’s Year Liaison Group, JMWA will be organizing a side event at CSW 66, scheduled to be held in March 2022. Preparations are currently underway to ensure that the content is in line with the priority theme.