What’s Shinfujin? Who are we? What are our aims?

The New Japan Women’s Association (NJWA or Shinfujin) was founded on October 19, 1962 at the call of 32 women including Hiratsuka Raicho (pioneer of the Japanese women’s movement), Nogami Yaeko (writer) and Iwasaki Chihiro (artist of pictures for children.) About 110,000 members are organized in more than 8,600 groups in workplaces and communities all over the country. Shinfujin has a head office that unites chapters working in all the 47 prefectures and branches in about 800 municipalities. It holds Special Consultative Status with the United Nations Economic and Social Council.

Under the five objectives, Shinfujin works to realize all kinds of women’s demands concerning such issues as women’s rights, equality with men, better working and living conditions, measures to support child-care, education, environmental protection, peace and abolition of nuclear weapons. The five objectives are:

• Protect the lives of women and children from the danger of nuclear war
• Oppose the adverse revision of the Constitution and the resurgence of militarism
• Work together for better living conditions, extended women’s rights and children’s well-being
• Win genuine national independence, democracy and emancipation of women
• Join hands with women around the world for building lasting peace

Shinfujin is opened to all women who agree with the above five objectives, irrespective of their thought, creed or political background. It publishes a weekly paper “Shinfujin Shimbun” with 200,000 readers.

Shinfujin is affiliated with, among others, the Japan Federation of Women’s Organizations (Fudanren), the International Women’s Year Liaison Group (comprising 34 Japanese women’s organizations of different backgrounds), and the Japan NGO Network for CEDAW (JNNC).

Shinfujin held its 30th National Convention in Tokyo on January 23, 2022 online for the first time, due to the COVID-19 pandemic restrictions. The Convention adopted a resolution that put forward the association’s action plan for the coming two years, entitled “More than Ever, Let Us Uphold Peace as Our Founding Value to Stop the Adverse Revision of the Constitution’s Article 9, to Eliminate Nuclear Weapons, to Promote Geneder Equality and Climate Justice for a Sustainable Society. In the Year of Our 60th Anniversary and Beyond, Let us Redoubling Our Effort to Realize Every Demand and Need of Women, and Let Us Bring Our All Forces to Build a Bigger Shinfujin.”

NJWA Leadership (elected at the 30th National Convention)      *new

President: YONEYAMA Atsuko*
Vice Presidents: ISHIHARA Kazu, KASAI Kimiyo, TAKAHASHI Kazue,
NISHIKAWA Kyoko, HIRANO Emiko*
Secretary General: TAKASUGI Shun
Deputy Secretary General: HASEGAWA Amari, WATANABE Satsuki