Sumiko Tanaka: Socialist Feminist Politician and Actvist, 1965-1983

Sumiko Tanaka was a member of Japan’s Upper House from 1965 to 1983, and the first woman to act as Vice-Chairperson of Japan Socialist Party, the predecessor of the present Social Democratic Party of Japan. In addition to her political work as a National Diet member, she was an activist who led the women’s social movement as Chairperson of Nihon Fujin Kaigi (Japan Women’s Council), a nationwide organization established in 1962 and forerunner of Ai Josei Kaigi (“I” Women's Council). As a leader of the Socialist Feminist movement that countered capitalism and patriarchy, she made profound contributions, especially concerning movements for gender equality in employment, against prostitution, and against pollution.

Drawing on her experiences of studying anthropology and feminism in U.S. in the 1950s, Tanaka also played an important role as a critical commentator on women’s issues, having much influence on many ordinary housewives and working women during the years of Japan's extraordinary economic growth. One of her great contributions was inspiring and making way for a new generation of researchers on women’s issues, while serving as head of Fujin Mondai Konwakai (Forum on Women’s Issues), 1962-2000, established before the academic field of women's studies developed.

This paper highlights Sumiko Tanaka’s public activities since the 1960s, but if the time allows, I'll discuss her personal history, the footprint she marked as a woman intellectual before and during World War II.