Japan is safe they say. But is it for women? Here’s what my mother in law taught me:
- don’t take an elevator alone (/with a man)
- avoid crowded trains
- don’t live on 1st floor or in any room with easy access through the balcony
- don’t dry your underwear outside

- always hang your clothes with a man’s clothes (my husband used to be away several months a year)
- don’t travel alone
- don’t go out too late alone
- always be suspicious, including with your male neighbors

Some may think she’s over cautious. Well, she speaks from her 70 years+ experience living in her own country. She’s politically active, she’s highly educated, was a hardworking mum, she’s a warrior too. So if a warrior tells “be careful”, listen.

I don’t like to live in fear, so I’ve decided early on that I will take my chances and just live (which worries her a little bit ). But this is a good indicator that Japanese society should and can do better for women (and don’t get me started on kids safety).

... Wow! This is getting a lot of attention. Thank you for reading, caring and for sharing your own stories. And I'm so, so sorry some of you went through hard experiences.

Women - but I think of men too, shouldn't have to worry about our safety, wherever we live.

Some may of you have misread me a little: I'm not bashing a country that I love. Yes, I know that other countries have it worst. It's not a competition of the safest place to live. I just feel that when Japan is praised as being safe, the voices of women are actually ignored.