Staff writer

OSAKA -- A leading women's rights activist recently lashed out at the government for dragging its feet on coming up with effective legislation to end discrimination against women, pointing out that even developing countries have advanced past Japan in this regard.

Dr. Marsha Freeman, director of International Women's Rights Action Watch, said Tokyo has misinterpreted the U.N. Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women, which Japan ratified in 1985.