So we didn't get Japan's first female Prime Minister. We got Rozen-kun. But, he did appoint 中之条町's very own 小渕優子 (Obuchi Yuko) to his cabinet!The only problem? She is the Minister of Birth Rate Decline. The official "Special Missions" (特命) that she is in charge of are counter plans for birth rate decline and gender equality.
Lisa over at TokyoMango pointed out:
The job title "minister of declining birth" is kind of horrendous—it takes a lot of power out of her hands already by defining what her role as the person in charge of gender is. Women don't get to choose their path in life, they just need to have more babies. That's kinda how that title resonates with me.
Now, Yuko Obuchi is married and has a 1 year old boy. My guess is that appointing her is a 作戦 (sakusen) to show women can have children and hold careers as well.
I don't think that directly translates to struggling middle class folk, not to mention, there really seems to be more issues with the declining birth rate than just the traditional "career" vs. "family" argument.
In any case, I wish her all the luck in her position and with her tasks. Oh, and by the way, maybe one way to combat the declining birth rate is to make immigration easier. I'm just saying.
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