Writer Jenny Sanders reflects on an unexpected political problem that reveals a profound spiritual truth. Using the experiences of Japan’s female MPs, she explores how authority can be legally granted yet unrealised, and what that teaches us about living fully in the authority God has already given his people.
Sanae Takaichi made history in October last year when, as leader of the Liberal Democratic Party, she became Japan’s first woman Prime Minister. The political landscape of Japan is still male-dominated but there are now 73 female MPs who are part of the lower house, two of whom have joined Ms Takaichi in her cabinet.
The real challenge these ladies are facing is not about what’s happening in their constituencies but in their toilet breaks between debate sessions. It’s a genuine problem. The national parliament building was completed in 1936, almost ten years before Japanese women were even given the vote and, consequently, there simply aren’t enough toilets for the ladies to use.
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Recently a petition signed by 58 women, including the new Prime Minister was submitted to the chair of the lower house committee
Recently a petition signed by 58 women, including the new Prime Minister was submitted to the chair of the lower house committee, Yasukazu Hamada, requesting an increase in the number of toilets available for women to better reflect their increased representation.
If you’ve ever stood squirming in a queue for the loos in any British public building/office (and who hasn’t?) while the men zip in and out, you will empathise. Historically, most of these buildings were designed by men, for men. Add to this the requirement for stalls versus urinals and you see the glaring disparity between the spaces allotted for male and female facilities. Building regulations on this have only been changed in UK workspaces relatively recently (1992) pushing ‘potty parity’ for greater provision, for some years. Relevant building regulations approved in 2010 have only been fully enforced since April last year.
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The Japanese MPs obviously have a legal right to appropriate facilities that enable them to do their job.
The Japanese MPs obviously have a legal right to appropriate facilities that enable them to do their job. Having been voted in, they have the authority to do it but, thanks to the prevailing culture, they’ll need to fight for the actuality of sufficient toilet facilities. Believe it or not, there’s a spiritual lesson here – not a male-female issue but one that’s true for every Jesus-follower.
Jesus has given us ‘all authority’ (Matthew 28:18) to live in the good of his full and free forgiveness, liberated from the bonds and lure of sin and to enjoy a vibrant relationship with him. Though we may face trials (James 1:12; 1 Peter1:6), we are also to be overcomers (1 John 5:4–5) and victors (1 Corinthians 15:57); Paul tells us we are ‘more than conquerors’ (Romans 8:37).
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This is not some flaky pie-in-the-sky mantra. We have to lay hold of God’s resources and his promises. We need to apply and own the authority that’s been designated to us in order to live in the reality of that which is truly ours and which has been paid for and ratified by Jesus himself. The challenge faced by the Japanese women is to lay hold of what is legitimately theirs with the authority they intrinsically have as MPs. Our challenge is to fully grasp and grip the realities of faith that our ours by dint of being children of God.
For example, the Bible is clear that those ‘in Christ’ are no longer sinners but saints. We’ve moved from darkness to light (Colossians 1:13) and from death to life (Ephesians 2:4–5). That doesn’t mean we never trip up, but that ‘new creation’ mandate in us (2 Corinthians 5:17) means we are now saints who sometimes sin. To lay hold of that truth and make it a reality we need to move in our rightful authority and apply the grace that God has given us, which causes us to say, ‘No’ to ungodliness (Titus 2:12). Just as the Japanese parliament will need to experience a change in culture so, spiritually, do we.
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