Japanese activists fighting against "maternity harassment"

Japanese activists fighting against "maternity harassment"

TOKYO, Japan - Sayaka Osakabe, the head of Matahara Net, a group supporting victims of "maternity harassment," or pregnancy discrimination, holds a press conference at the Foreign Correspondents' Club of Japan in Tokyo on Oct. 24, 2014, the day after a landmark decision by the Supreme Court in favor of a woman demoted due to pregnancy.

Woman champions ban on 'maternity harassment'

Woman champions ban on 'maternity harassment'

TOKYO, Japan - Sayaka Osakabe, seen in this photo taken on Sept. 29, 2014, is an organizer of the "Matahara Net" campaign to counter "maternity harassment" in male-dominated workplaces. She says she has collected over 8,000 signatures on her petition to include a ban on such harassment in a bill pushed by Prime Minister Shinzo Abe to encourage the employment of more women and their promotion to managerial posts.

Mt. Fuji seen from the Hakone post town

Mt. Fuji seen from the Hakone post town

This photo captures Mt. Fuji with Lake Ashinoko and the post town of Hakone in the foreground. The two-storied house with a gentle sloped roof in the centre is Hafuya (present-day Hakone Hotel), the pyramid shaped roofs on the left of it are, from the right, Matahara, Kawada, Koma, and Ishiuchi Honjins (officially appointed inns for feudal lords). The peninsulas on the left sticking out to the lake are, from the foreground, Hatabikiyama, Mikuniyama, and Nagao Pass just before Mt. Fuji can be seen.==Date:unknown, Place:Hakone, Photo:unknown, (Credit:Nagasaki University Library/Kyodo News Images) [Cabinet Number59‐46‐0]

The Hakone post town

The Hakone post town

With Mt. Fuji in the background, this is a picture of Lake Ashi and Hakone city. The pyramid-shaped roofs to the left are the Honjin, or lodgings of feudal lords during the Sankin Kotai of the Edo Era. From the right, they may be Matahara, Kawada, Koma and Ishiuchi, but this is not certain.==Date:unknown, Place:Hakone, Photo:unknown, (Credit:Nagasaki University Library/Kyodo News Images) [Cabinet Number26‐6‐0]

Japanese activists fighting against "maternity harassment"

Japanese activists fighting against "maternity harassment"

TOKYO, Japan - Sayaka Osakabe, the head of Matahara Net, a group supporting victims of "maternity harassment," or pregnancy discrimination, holds a press conference at the Foreign Correspondents' Club of Japan in Tokyo on Oct. 24, 2014, the day after a landmark decision by the Supreme Court in favor of a woman demoted due to pregnancy. (Kyodo)

Woman champions ban on 'maternity harassment'

Woman champions ban on 'maternity harassment'

TOKYO, Japan - Sayaka Osakabe, seen in this photo taken on Sept. 29, 2014, is an organizer of the "Matahara Net" campaign to counter "maternity harassment" in male-dominated workplaces. She says she has collected over 8,000 signatures on her petition to include a ban on such harassment in a bill pushed by Prime Minister Shinzo Abe to encourage the employment of more women and their promotion to managerial posts. (Kyodo)