Japanese politician receives over 8,000 death threats after proposing free sanitary products in toilets

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.
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".
Read more from Sky News:
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.

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The Hill

4 hours ago

• The Hill

Gabbard's standing in Trump World comes into question

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Yahoo

8 hours ago

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Trump promised riches from ‘liquid gold' in the US. Now fossil fuel donors are benefiting

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His $30m, 23,000 sq ft Dallas mansion includes a movie theater and bowling alley, and among his other assets are a 8,000-acre ranch near Cherokee, Texas, which is home to zebras, javelinas and giraffes; a 20,000-acre golf resort in Lajitas, Texas; a private island near Roatán, Honduras; and numerous private aircraft, including a Dassault Falcon 900 jet. A lover of folk music, Warren also started a record label in 2007 alongside the singer-songwriter Jimmy LaFave, with whom he has also written songs. 'If you hear me now,' goes one song for which Warren penned the lyrics, 'maybe you could pull some strings.' The pipeline mogul accumulated most of his wealth from Energy Transfer Partners, which owns and operates about 130,000 miles of energy infrastructure in the US. In recent months, the firm has been criticized by advocates for its successful lawsuit against the environmental non-profit Greenpeace, which in March yielded a verdict that threatens to bankrupt the organization. Warren has long enjoyed a relationship with the president, donating generously to his first campaign and attending closed-door meetings during his first term. Though Warren is not known to have attended the infamous May 2024 meeting during which Trump asked oil bosses for $1bn and pledged to overturn environmental rules, he did co-host a fundraiser for the president in Houston weeks later. He is one of a handful of the most powerful oil billionaires from Texas, where there are no limits on contributions to candidates and political committees. 'Texas has always been kind of a testing ground for the most extreme politics and issues that the Republicans pursue,' said Matt Angle, founder of the Lone Star Project, a Democratic Pac in the state. 'In Texas, people like him are used to being able to donate to get their way.' Unlike some other Texas energy barons, such as the Christian nationalist Tim Dunn, Warren is not driven by dogma, said Jones. 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It's a 'pay to play' scenario, said Carp co-founder Chuck Collins. Other provisions would expedite the build-out of LNG export infrastructure, force the government to hold lease sales for fossil fuels even when demand is low and reverse protections to allow drilling in some areas without any judicial review. Still others would stymy federal agencies' ability to implement new climate rules by requiring that major changes obtain congressional approval, allow gas developers to pay a $10m fee to bypass permitting processes, limit who can bring lawsuits over gas infrastructure and allow firms to pay taxpayers less to use public land, Carp found. Related: 'This is the looting of America': Trump and Co's extraordinary conflicts of interest in his second term The bill is also set to hand fossil fuel companies huge tax breaks – including by extending tax cuts in the Trump-backed 2017 reconciliation bill, from which Energy Transfer Partners reported a tax benefit of $1.81bn. In one example, the House's version of the bill would reinstate 100% 'bonus depreciation' for qualified properties, allowing companies such as Energy Transfer Partners to completely write off new infrastructure such as pipelines on their taxes, and see the benefits immediately. It's also expected to apply to private jets, Collins noted. Other tax breaks in the proposal are expected to personally benefit ultra-wealthy Americans such as Warren. 'The most wealth I've ever made is during the dark times,' Warren told Bloomberg a decade ago. Under Trump, Energy Transfer Partners will also probably save money on pipeline safety compliance. Since the president re-entered the White House in January, enforcement from the Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration has dropped. Across the pipeline industry, the PHMSA opened only four enforcement actions in April, and zero in March – marking the first month since the subagency's 2004 launch when no cases were initiated, E&E News reported. 'That fits right in with the philosophy or paradigm of the Trump 2.0 deregulation agenda,' said Carp's Cohen. A lack of action from the body could lead to savings for Energy Transfer Partners, which has paid millions in fines to the PHMSA. In March, Energy Transfer Partners also sued the PHMSA, claiming that its enforcement system is 'unconstitutional'. Success in the suit could mean the company is forced to pay fewer penalties. Another Trump policy from which Energy Transfer Partners will benefit: an exemption for oil and gas from his new tariffs. The president provided the industry wide shield after a meeting with the American Petroleum Institute lobby group, of which Warren's company is a member. The firm's profits may still be blunted by other tariffs, such as those on aluminum and other products needed for pipeline construction, but the energy sector expects those losses to be offset by the soon-to-be-passed reconciliation bill, Politico reported in April. 'The energy companies would prefer not to have the tariffs, sure,' said Jones. 'But those are not a negative that outweighs what they view as the existential threat that Democrats represent … the existential threat of net zero.' Error in retrieving data Sign in to access your portfolio Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data

Chicago Tribune

11 hours ago

• Chicago Tribune

Today in History: WNBA made its debut

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