Women lead the struggle for consumers’ rights in Japan

Press, Volume CXVI, Issue 34151, 12 May 1976, Page 6

Women lead the struggle for consumers’ rights in Japan

f By

LEONE STEWART,

a staff writer who recently visited Japan)

Woman power is at last )>eginning to emerge from the home in Japan. Women have led the way in the Tight for consumers’ rights. Theirs is a courageous rebellion in a country where business and government often seem inseparable. These women are not radi- . cal feminists. Mostly in their 40s and 50s. they are moderate activists working to change the system with a determination that is an example to some organisations in this country. Mrs Yuri Takada is a vice • president of the Housewives’ Association of Japan, and chief of its consumer testing laboratory. Gentle and i softly-spoken, she shows nonetheless the spirit that has earned the association into the courts and out on to the street to protest high prices and misleading labelling. Fight goes on The consumer movement is a growing political force in Japan. It may yet become a powerful enough lobby to influence broad Government policy. That could be good for Xew Zealand trade; consumer groups have already protested against the high price of imported food. The day 1 interviewed Mrs Takada in her office of the associations multi-storey headquarters in Tokyo, the executive had petitioned the Diet, protesting against its emasculation of the new anti-monopoly legislation. The legislation had just been passed without the crucial clause which would

ihave forced companies i ■reaching a certain size to be] (Split into smaller enter-1 ; prises. Diet members have not! • heard the last of the associ- ■ jation on this, and other: ■campaigns it is fighting.; With typical Japanese tenac-j lity it just keeps working! jaway at the problem. Right now it is fighting the battle ion several fronts. A legal battle with the ;Fair Trade Commission, begun in 1969, continues. A I five-year boycott of Shiseido (cosmetics — used as an I example of price fixing between manufacturers and reItailers — goes on unrelentingly. And this month ■ the association will put into {action plans for a boycott of {plastic food containers made {from a resin that is said to {cause cancer. These women refuse to feel powerless to regulate | the activities of the immense {manufacturing sector which dominates the Japanese ■economy. In a land of more than 100 million their collec- | tive membership of 1,000,000 [may seem small. But it can {be a rallying point. They have proved their I power by one drmatic boy-j jeott. In 1970 they lead five; i consumer groups in a boyicott of colour television! {sets. After eight months I (they succeeded in getting! (the price-fixing system that ( (had maintained high prices( {for colour sets abolished.! 'The price of a 20in set was {reduced by about $lOO. The television boycott was! ja success because, as Mrs! ■Takada says, the item was ai {luxury and people simply Stopped buying. Shiseido cosmetics mayj also' seem to be a luxury. ■ However, in beauty-

conscious Japan they are! hard to resist. The company; has by far the largest share | of the cosmetics market. Itsj products are also too highly priced, says the association. Free competition is best for consumers. That is the cornerstone of the association's policy. By making an example of Shiseido, the association is determined to get the resale price maintenance system abolished. Under the system, Mrs Ta-1 kada says, producers set retail prices for their products! and force retailers to keep! to them. Shiseido, she says,! has built up a complex sys- ■ tern of marketing in retail stores. If a store wants to! lower prices, or offer dis- j counts, the company simply! refuses to suppl y it. Quoting statistics to support her case, Mrs Takada says the company's strength in the market has allowed it to follow other practises the association dislikes. A cold cream which the association tested proved to have a total production cost of about 17c. The cost to the consumer — about $3.50. And there is no doubt about Mrs Takada’s feelings about the company’s promotion methods, which the organisation says add considerably to the final cost of its products. “In 1971 Shiseido had 9000 beauty consultants,” she says, in a tone as close to outright indignation as you can hear in Japan. Another test, putting much cheaper brands against the expensive names, showed that there was a-dif-ference of only one in-; gredient among the lot, and an inexpensive item at that. Fake juice Although the boycott is still on, progress is being made. Shiseido has come out with a cheaper line of cosmetics in an effort to meet criticism. The resale price maintenance scheme has been lifted from detergents, soaps, toothpaste, and white shirts — all basic items. It remains on cosmetics, though the Government has bowed to pressure and exempted items under about 40c.

The ‘'fruit-juice affair” is an example of the association’s determination. One of (its main functions is to test ■consumer products, though 'price is the major concern in these times ol inflation and recession. Drinks looking like fruit juice, and labelled juice, ; were found to contain no genuine juice at all. They even tasted like the real thing, and apparently fooled at least 60 per cent of purchasers. When the Fair Trade Commission refused to accept their submissions on labelling, the association — representing all consumer groups in Japan — and its president, Mrs Mumeo Oku, filed a complaint under the appropriate act. The commission dismissed the case on the grounds that only individuals directly affected could file a complaint. So the association and Mrs Oku went to the Tokyo High Court in 1973. They lost their case claiming consumers’ rights to complain against the F.T.C. In 1974 they appealed to the Supreme Court. In the process they have gathered both publicity and scholarly support. Japan is not a society of lawyers, as is the United States, or even New Zealland. The rule of law is

maintained more by a sys-, tern of honour. Loss of face! is the worst disgrace of all. | So recourse to the courts is | a drastic measure. The latest boycott of certain plastic containers has] been planned only when! publication of the facts failed to bring the manufac-! turers into line. But do consumer groups such as the association really have much power to influence the Government? “We are fighting against; the large companies, which is very difficult because the political parties depend on them for funds,” says Mrs Takada. Their own funds are; meagre. Mrs Takada visited New Zealand in 1974, and talks wistfully of the assistance voluntary organisations (receive from the Govern|ment here. On no account, however, could her association receive aid from the Government. She says proudly that it is privately financed, with “no strings attached.” “If we got money from the Government, no-one would believe we were independent.” Reaction to the Lockheed pay-offs scandal reflects the depth of public distaste for corruption in officialdom. The association was founded in 1948 by Mumeo Oku, then an independent member of the Diet. Consumer goods were rationed then, and quality was generally poor. The indignation of Japanese housewives finally culminated in a mass display of faulty matches — the women hired two trucks to display their collection.

Since then the association has got consumer protection and labelling laws passed. It has uncovered hazards to health in products through its consumer testing programme—similar to our Consumers’ Institute activities. It has worked to educate women.

How does Yuri Takada see the future? She is optimistic that the base of the movement is growing as more men’s groups become involved. But she is also a pragmatist. She sees the time coming, and it will be | soon, when the. organisation (will have to be active in | politics. ! Political problem I “Many more women are; {getting into local government, and we are effective, there,” she says. “But we need more women in the Diet, and more sympathetic men, too.” ! Political activity poses problems for the organisation. Federated like the National Council of Women, it has always represented women of all shades of political opinion. Supporting its own candidates would require big money, and a party political commitment. Independent members, says Yuri Takada regretfully, have little power in the Diet.

Mrs Takada believes the ruling conservative Liberal Democratic Party has too large a majority in the Diet. While in opposition the Socialists sound .more sympathetic to her cause. But she is skeptical about political promises. “They all make promises,” she smiles, with typical Japanese irony, “but we wonder what they would do if they came to power.” Are Japanese women politically independent? Mrs Takada rejects the suggestion that they may vote as do their husbands. Not now, she says firmly. Women’s political consciousness is being raised in Japan. During our stay in Tokyo the "Japan Times,” [Published a stirring editorial in. favour of full achievement of women’s rights. Mrs Takada points out that already Japanese women have a better voting record than men. Increasingly, that vote counts.