With バレンタインデー (barentain dē, Valentine’s Day) taking place on Feb. 14 and ホワイトデー (howaito dē, White Day) coming on March 14, it would seem that women get a lot of attention at this time of year. In the middle of those two chocolatey holidays, however, is 国際女性デー (kokusai josei dē, International Women’s Day), on March 8, perhaps the most important day among the three.

With an ever-widening gender gap, it’s clear Japan needs to pay more attention to the situation women face in this country, which has a current ranking on the Global Gender Gap Index of 125th out of 146 countries. Issues that have grabbed the headlines recently include 選択的夫婦別姓 (sentaku-teki fūfu bessei), or optional separate surnames for married couples; better access to 緊急避妊薬 (kinkyū hininyaku), which are emergency contraceptives or so-called morning after pills; and the 男女の賃金格差 (danjo no chingin kakusa, pay gap between men and women). この国では女性の生きづらさが今なお十分に対処されていません (Kono kuni dewa josei no ikizurasa ga imanao jūbun ni taisho sarete-imasen, The difficulties in women’s lives have yet to be addressed adequately in this country).

When speaking with people about these topics, one word that may pop up frequently is “difference.” You may be familiar with the word 違い (chigai, difference), which is derived from the verb 違う (chigau, to be different). It’s usually used in sentences that point out differences with regard to your senses: お互いの価値観の違いを理解する事が大切です (O-tagai no kachikan no chigai o rikai suru koto ga taisetsu desu, It’s important to understand each other’s differences in values).

When talking about a difference in salary, though, as in the term 男女の賃金格差, the word used to connote the difference is 格差 (kakusa, disparity). There’s a nuance of 上下の序列 (jōge no joretsu, a hierarchy of high and low) in 格差 that isn’t present in 違い. Thus, the latter word is not usually used when ranking something.

The 差 (sa, difference) in 格差 can be seen in other terms that express difference, including 時差 (jisa, time difference), 年の差 (toshi no sa, age difference) and 差別 (sabetsu, discrimination).

One of the challenges that women regularly face in Japan is the 意識の差 (ishiki no sa, gap in awareness) of outdated 固定観念 (kotei kannen, stereotypes) such as 女性が家事育児をするのは当たり前 (josei ga kaji-ikuji o suru nowa atarimae), or the idea that it’s natural that women do 家事 (kaji, housework) and 育児 (ikuji, child care).

A recent poll suggests 22% of men believe they already handle 50% of the 家事, while only 4% of women agree with that sentiment. The 意識の差 between men and women is even more apparent in the 29% of women who told the same poll that they actually cover 90% of the 家事.

The 差 can also be seen among politicians and citizens. When Prime Minister Fumio Kishida reshuffled his Cabinet last September, he explained his choices by saying,「女性ならではの感性や共感力も十分発揮していただきながら、仕事をしていただくことを期待したい」 (Josei nara dewa no kansei ya kyōkan-ryoku mo jūbun hakki shite-itadakinagara, shigoto o shite-itadaku koto o kitai shitai, We hope that women will utilize their unique feminine sensitivity and empathy to the fullest extent in their work).

The comment immediately blew up on social media, with many claiming that compassion didn’t need to be gendered, and it was 古くさい (furukusai, outdated) to expect typical femininity from women lawmakers.

A friend of mine also questioned why only women should care about their gender so often when nobody discusses 男らしさ (otoko-rashisa, manliness) at work. It shouldn’t be overlooked that 固定観念 about gender often leads to 偏見 (henken, prejudice) and ジェンダーバイアス (jendā baiasu, gender biases) both in the office and in society at large.

Japanese women are also sometimes referred to as 大和撫子 (yamato nadeshiko), a word you may recognize in the nickname of the women’s national soccer team, なでしこジャパン (nadeshiko Jyapan, Nadeshiko Japan). That term originates from the wildflower カワラナデシコ (kawara nadeshiko), which has feathery pink flowers that bloom in the fall. Today, though, 大和撫子 is used to represent the feminine virtues of Japanese women as a whole. Typically, 清楚で美しく凛とした女性 (seiso de utsukushiku rin to shita josei, a woman who is clean, neat, beautiful and composed).

Women shouldn’t need to be clean and composed in the face of 性別や人種などを理由に低い地位に甘んじることを強いられている不当な状態 (seibetsu ya jinshu nado o riyū ni hikui chi’i ni amanjiru koto o shiirarete iru futōna jōtai, the unfair situation in which people are forced to accept a lower status due to their gender, race and so on).

If you’re looking to take part in an event to celebrate 国際女性デー in Japan, the Women’s Day March in Tokyo will be held on March 8. The event has been held since 2017 and those who would like to participate should meet at 5:30 p.m. at the United Nations University (5-53-70 Jingumae, Shibuya Ward). Details can be found at their website. Additionally, the group’s X (formerly Twitter) account, @WomensMarchTYO, includes information about activities in Kumamoto and Nagoya.

If you can’t make it out, then try exploring the lives and work of Noe Ito, Mitsu Tanaka, Chizuko Ueno, Minori Kitahara and Hisako Matsui. The main thing is that March 8 is, to borrow a quote from another event: “女性の生き方を考える日, 女性のエンパワーメントとジェンダー平等社会実現を” (Josei no ikikata o kangaeru hi, josei no enpawāmento to jendā byōdō shakai jitsugen o, A day to think about women’s lives, empowering women and realizing a gender-equal society).