Japanese Foreign Minister Yoko Kamikawa retracted her statement about the importance of a woman having a child who can perceived as an insult by those who cannot have children for medical reasons.
„I take seriously the suggestion that my statement could be taken differently than the desire to change the future through the power of women that I meant. “I would like to withdraw my request”, the NHK television channel quoted her as saying.
On May 18, while speaking in support of one of the candidates in the Shizuoka Prefecture gubernatorial election, Kamikawa made several statements regarding the role of women in society. In particular, she used the phrase “what is a woman without children?“
Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida, commenting on Kamikawa's words, noted that politicians “should avoid misleading expressions”. Representatives of opposition parties criticized the head of the foreign ministry, saying that her words could be interpreted as if women who do not have children are not women.