Mariko Bando

Mariko Bando (坂東 眞理子, Bandō Mariko) is a Japanese writer, critic, and former bureaucrat. Bando started her career in the Prime Minister's office, later becoming a consul general and the first director general of the Japanese Cabinet Office's Gender Equality Bureau. Her 2006 book The Dignity of a Woman has sold more than three million copies in Japan. She is currently the president and chancellor of Showa Women's University.

Mariko Bando
坂東 眞理子
Mariko Bando speaking at conference in 2013
Born1946 (age 74–75)
Toyama Prefecture, Japan
NationalityJapanese
Alma materUniversity of Tokyo
OccupationWriter, critic, civil servant
Notable work
The Dignity of a Woman (女性の品格)

Early life and education

Bando was born in Toyama Prefecture and attended Toyama Chubu High School.[1] Bando completed her undergraduate education at the University of Tokyo.[2] In 2001 she received an honorary doctorate from Queensland University of Technology.[3]

Career

After graduating from the University of Tokyo in 1969, Bando entered the Japanese civil service. She became the first woman in a career post in the office of the Prime Minister of Japan.[4] Her civil service career included numerous posts in the office of the Prime Minister of Japan, the Bureau of Statistics, and the Cabinet Secretariat, including posts overseeing policy on gender equality, youth, and the elderly.[5] In 1978 she wrote the first white paper on gender inequality in Japan.[6] In 1981 she spent a term at Harvard University's Mary I. Bunting Institute studying women managers.[7]

From 1995 to 1998 Bando was the Vice Governor of Saitama Prefecture.[8] In 1998, with her appointment as consul general in Brisbane, Australia, she became the first woman to hold a Japanese consul general post.[4][9]

From 2001 to 2003 Bando was the inaugural director general of the Japanese government's Gender Equality Bureau.[4] During Bando's tenure Japan enacted the 2001 Law on Prevention of Spouse Violence and Protection of Victims, which expanded the range of possible domestic violence offenses and penalties and increased government support for survivors.[10][11] In 2003 she led the Japanese delegation to the United Nations Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women.[12] Bloomberg Businessweek described Bando as "the Japanese government's front-and-center spokeswoman, cheerleader, and champion of its policy of leveling the playing field for women".[13] In the same year, Bando ran for governor of Saitama Prefecture but lost to Kiyoshi Ueda.[14]

Showa Women's University

Since 2003 Bando has worked in various capacities at Showa Women's University, most recently as president and chancellor.[2][5] She has claimed that the career change reflected her desire to help women workers more directly through education.[15][16] During her tenure as chancellor, Showa Women's University eliminated its junior college and partnered with Temple University to move the Temple University, Japan Campus to the Showa Women's University campus.[17][18]

Writing

Bando has written books on a variety of topics, including aging, leadership, and etiquette.[19] At age 60 she wrote The Dignity of a Woman (女性の品格, Josei no hinkaku), a practical guide for women, especially younger working women, on how to maintain "dignity" in speech, manners, and dress.[20][2] The Dignity of a Woman, published in 2006, became the number one bestseller in Japan in 2007.[21][22] Bando attributed its sales success to "the public's appetite for books on traditional values".[23] A study by scholar Hiroko Hirakawa found that many women objected to the book's portrayal of the "dignified woman" as a "superwoman who projects an upper-class aura while remaining ever modest and grounded in an appreciation for the old-fashioned values of frugality, respect, and sentiment".[24] The Dignity of a Woman sold over three million copies in Japan.[4]

Personal life

Bando married at the age of 24, while working in the office of the Prime Minister of Japan, and had her first child at age 26.[6] She has two children.[25]

Selected works
  • Toward a Gender Equality Society (男女共同参画社会へ, Danjo kyōdō sankaku shakai e), Keisō Shobō, 2004, ISBN 9784326652990
  • The Dignity of a Woman (女性の品格 : 装いから生き方まで, Josei no hinkaku: Yosooi kara ikikata made), PHP Kenkyūjo, 2006, ISBN 9784569657059
  • Utsukushii nihongo no susume (美しい日本語のすすめ), Shōgakukan, 2009, ISBN 9784098250516
  • Iiwake shiteru bāi ka : datsu mō osoikamo shōkōgun (言い訳してる場合か! : 脫・もう遅いかも症候群), Hōken, 2017, ISBN 9784865134384

References
  1. "「女性の品格」の著者はいま昭和女子大学長　坂東眞理子さん". Kyōiku Gakujutsu Shinbun (in Japanese). Association of Private Universities of Japan. Archived from the original on 16 November 2017. Retrieved 30 June 2018.
  2. Onishi, Norimitsu (29 March 2008). "Japanese Author Guides Women to 'Dignity,' but Others See Dullness". The New York Times. Archived from the original on 30 June 2018. Retrieved 30 June 2018.
  3. Mathewson, Catriona (10 February 2001). "Sex-equality guru takes aim at `bamboo barrier'". The Courier-Mail. p. 18.
  4. Kawaguchi, Judit (25 November 2010). "Showa Women's University President Mariko Bando". Japan Times. Archived from the original on 4 January 2019. Retrieved 30 June 2018.
  5. "役員の紹介" (in Japanese). Showa Women's University. Archived from the original on 3 January 2019. Retrieved 30 June 2018.
  6. 森, 啓一. "人跡森踏 – 坂東眞理子氏". Jinseki Shintoh (in Japanese). Focus Systems. Archived from the original on 4 September 2017. Retrieved 8 July 2018.
  7. McKibben, Gordon (26 January 1982). "The Lowly Role of Japanese Women". Boston Globe. p. 1.
  8. Renshaw, Jean (23 September 1999). Kimono in the Boardroom: The Invisible Evolution of Japanese Women Managers. Oxford University Press. ISBN 9780195353549.
  9. Consular List. Australian Government Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade. Australian Government Publishing Service. 1999.
  10. Rice, Melinda (2 December 2001). "Japan Adopts Tough Domestic Violence Law". Women's eNews. Archived from the original on 30 September 2018. Retrieved 30 June 2018.
  11. Shorrock, Tim (8 May 2005). "POPULATION: 'Soft Power' On the Rise in Japan". Inter Press Service. Archived from the original on 30 September 2018. Retrieved 30 June 2018.
  12. "Committee experts, noting important progress in Japan's legal framework, welcome new legislation to foster gender equality". United Nations. 8 July 2003. Archived from the original on 30 September 2018. Retrieved 30 June 2018.
  13. "Mariko Bando". Bloomberg Businessweek. 8 June 2003. Archived from the original on 30 September 2018. Retrieved 30 June 2018.
  14. "Ex-DPJ lawmaker Ueda voted Saitama governor". Japan Times. 1 September 2003. Archived from the original on 30 September 2018. Retrieved 30 June 2018.
  15. 瀬川, 奈都子 (20 February 2014). "良妻賢母からキャリアへ、女子校教育の強み". Nikkei Style (in Japanese). Archived from the original on 3 January 2019. Retrieved 30 June 2018.
  16. "異見交論31「女子学生よ 武器をとれ！」坂東真理子氏（昭和女子大学総長）". Yomiuri Shimbun (in Japanese). 12 November 2016. Archived from the original on 3 January 2019. Retrieved 8 July 2018.
  17. 阿部, 奈美 (9 December 2017). "「良妻賢母大」が志願者4倍に　坂東真理子氏が奮闘". Nikkei Style (in Japanese). Archived from the original on 3 January 2019. Retrieved 30 June 2018.
  18. McCrostie, James (15 November 2017). "Tokyo campus tie-up between Temple Japan and Showa Women's University could offer model for the future". Japan Times. Archived from the original on 3 January 2019. Retrieved 30 June 2018.
  19. "The Hard Impact of Soft Power: Women, NGOs, Manga and Social Change". The Sasakawa Peace Foundation. 5 May 2005. Archived from the original on 30 September 2018. Retrieved 30 June 2018.
  20. 佐藤, 有美 (10 August 2017). "坂東眞理子氏が『女性の品格』発行から10年経って思うこと――坂東眞理子（昭和女子大学理事長）前編". Keizaikai (in Japanese). Archived from the original on 12 August 2017. Retrieved 8 July 2018.
  21. "Behind the Bestsellers: Educator Graces Top of List". The Daily Yomiuri (Yomiuri Shimbun). 8 February 2008. p. 1.
  22. "2007年　年間ベストセラー" (PDF) (in Japanese). Tohan Corporation. Archived (PDF) from the original on 13 July 2018. Retrieved 30 June 2018.
  23. Wallace, Bruce (22 September 2007). "Japan debates dignity, or the lack thereof". Los Angeles Times. Archived from the original on 22 October 2015. Retrieved 16 August 2018.
  24. Hirakawa, Hiroko (21 April 2011). "Chapter 7: The Dignified Woman Who Loves to be 'Lovable'". In Bardsley, Jan; Miller, Laura (eds.). Manners and Mischief: Gender, Power, and Etiquette in Japan. University of California Press. ISBN 9780520949492.
  25. 加藤, 京子 (13 April 2017). "坂東眞理子さん直伝　脱「いい子」で新型リーダーに". Nikkei Style (in Japanese). Archived from the original on 3 January 2019. Retrieved 31 August 2018.
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