Trends in gender studies within Japanese sociology

This article gives an overview of the last 20 years of gender studies in the context of Japanese sociology. First, it discusses women’s studies as a predecessor of gender studies and its historical development. Next, it outlines the annual changes observed in the number of publications that included the word ‘gender.’ Then, the article explains the two main tasks that gender studies have pursued – using actual research as examples. After that, the influence that translations of foreign research have had on Japanese gender studies is discussed. Finally, the article points to the three important challenges Japanese gender studies face currently.