A Japanese politician has been sent close to 8,000 death threats after calling for menstrual products to be stocked in public toilets.
Ayaka Yoshida, a 27-year-old assembly member from Mie Prefecture and a Japanese Communist Party member, made a police report on Monday about the threats, which were received over the weekend.
The threats came after she posted last Tuesday on social media that she had struggled to find sanitary napkins at Tsu City Hall. “I was taken by surprise by my period and was in a predicament since there were no sanitary napkins available in the bathroom at Tsu City Hall. I hope menstrual pads can be made available like toilet paper,” Yoshida posted on X.
As reported by Kyodo News, the emails were sent from one address over periods of about one minute on Friday night to Monday afternoon. Some threatened to kill her outright, while others taunted her, saying she should know to bring emergency materials. One was quoted as reading, “I will kill assembly member Ayaka Yoshida who doesn’t bring emergency napkins with her while being old enough to know better!”
At a Monday press conference, Yoshida sounded deeply disturbed about the intimidation attempts. “These messages are meant to gag me and smother my work as a member of the prefectural assembly. I am extremely terrified and hope for a complete police investigation,” she said.
A Deloitte Tohmatsu Group survey discovered that 44% of Japanese women never take time off work when they have their periods, even when they are in a lot of pain. The survey, conducted in 10 countries between October 2022 and January 2023, highlights the more general issues relating to menstrual health in Japan.
