Japanese governmental agencies and gendered representations in public and warning signs

Abstract To counter Japan’s low birth rate, labor shortage, and economic stagnation, their government has adopted policies, such as the ‘womenomics,’ and ‘The Ikumen project,’ so that more women can join the workforce, and men can enjoy a healthier work-life balance. However, this study shows that governmental agencies employ gendered representations in public and warning signs, which contradict such policies. For instance, this study found that most public signs depict women predominantly as the caretakers of children, while men are predominantly seen as suit-wearing ‘salarymen’ who prioritize work over home. Additionally, men are almost always represented as law-breaking individuals, while women are frequently shown as helpless victims. Since such signs carry official government insignias, this study suggests conceptualizing public signs through Foucault’s ‘dividing practices,’ as signs divide society into gendered groups to create social order. Furthermore, this study argues that gendered representations in public signs possibly reflect that the government’s view regarding gendered roles in Japan has not fundamentally changed. Lastly, since the gendered representations of signs are similar to other media representations, this study argues that these representations should be viewed as part of a wider network of ‘systems of representations,’ which repeat the hegemonic gender representations in Japan.