A Japanese politician says she received more than 8,000 death threats after proposing free sanitary pads in public toilets.
Ayaka Yoshida, a 27-year-old member of the Japanese Communist Party, posted on X on 25 March that she had “suddenly got my period today and it was a problem”.
She added: “Unfortunately, there were no napkins in the bathroom at Tsu City Hall when I stopped by.
“I couldn’t deal with it properly until I got home. Even at 27 years old, this happens.
“I want sanitary napkins to be available everywhere, like toilet paper.”
Ms Yoshida, who is a member of the prefectural assembly in Mie in central Japan, added in a separate post the same day: “I recall that when a question was asked at the city council about installing them at city hall as well, the city authorities were reluctant”.
The Mie prefectural assembly later received more than 8,000 death threat emails directed at Ms Yoshida from Friday 28 March, the South China Morning Post reports.
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All the emails came from one address and carried an identical message, according to the Mainichi newspaper in Japan.
It reportedly read: “I will kill assembly member Ayaka Yoshida, who does not bring emergency napkins with her while being old enough to know better!”
Ms Yoshida shared a post on X on 31 March saying she had received more than 8,000 deaths and added: “I felt scared”.
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The politician reportedly told a news conference that the threats had “the effect of intimidating me and suppressing my activities as a prefectural assembly member”.
Ms Yoshida is also said to have confirmed that she had filed a complaint with police and an investigation is under way.
Chisato Kitanaka, an associate professor of sociology at Hiroshima University and an adviser in the university’s harassment consultation office, has told This Week in Asia that abusive messages targeting women who speak out are becoming more common in Japan.
She said: “We are seeing similar things happening time and time again.
“Any time that a statement is made or a proposal is written by a female politician, they are almost always attacked.”
Ms Kitanaka added that topics that have sparked a backlash online include support for working mothers, women’s health, shortages of places at nurseries, sexual violence in Japanese society and domestic violence.
