Photos: Japan’s women sailors serve on frontline of gender equality | Hindustan Times
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Photos: Japan’s women sailors serve on frontline of gender equality

Updated On Oct 11, 2018 12:02 PM IST

Japan has one of the world’s largest navies and the proportion of women serving on its biggest warship Kaga’s 450-strong crew is about 9 percent, a level Japan is targeting for the military overall by 2030 from its current 6 percent figure. The tight-knit groups of these women sailors, serving on the frontline, have a strong stand working to transform the Japanese navy into a mixed-gender fighting force, where men outnumber them more than 10 to one.

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Yuma Osaki, a navigator, runs back to her post after a flag raising ceremony on the flight deck of Japanese helicopter carrier Kaga before its departure for naval drills in the Indian Ocean, Indonesia. Women serving on Japan’s biggest warship, the Kaga, are a tight-knit group on the frontline of a push to transform the Japanese navy into a mixed-gender fighting force, where men outnumber them more than 10 to one. (Kim Kyung-Hoon / REUTERS) expand-icon View Photos in a new improved layout
Updated on Oct 11, 2018 12:02 PM IST

Yuma Osaki, a navigator, runs back to her post after a flag raising ceremony on the flight deck of Japanese helicopter carrier Kaga before its departure for naval drills in the Indian Ocean, Indonesia. Women serving on Japan’s biggest warship, the Kaga, are a tight-knit group on the frontline of a push to transform the Japanese navy into a mixed-gender fighting force, where men outnumber them more than 10 to one. (Kim Kyung-Hoon / REUTERS)

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A female navigator aboard Japanese helicopter carrier Kaga (R) prepares to practice raising sign signal flags in the Indian Ocean, Indonesia. The proportion of women in the Kaga's 450-strong crew is about 9%, a level Japan is targeting for the military overall by 2030 from 6% now. That would still fall short of the US, where 15% of people in uniform are women, and Britain with 10%. (Kim Kyung-Hoon / REUTERS) expand-icon View Photos in a new improved layout
Updated on Oct 11, 2018 12:02 PM IST

A female navigator aboard Japanese helicopter carrier Kaga (R) prepares to practice raising sign signal flags in the Indian Ocean, Indonesia. The proportion of women in the Kaga's 450-strong crew is about 9%, a level Japan is targeting for the military overall by 2030 from 6% now. That would still fall short of the US, where 15% of people in uniform are women, and Britain with 10%. (Kim Kyung-Hoon / REUTERS)

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Akiko Ihara, a flight deck crew aboard Kaga, guides a SH-60K Sea Hawk helicopter. “Women all over the world are working in a wider number of areas and I think Japan needs to be a part of that,” Ihara said. The nine-year veteran says she has encountered no workplace discrimination, and would challenge any man who thinks women are unsuited for military life to work with her. (Kim Kyung-Hoon / REUTERS) expand-icon View Photos in a new improved layout
Updated on Oct 11, 2018 12:02 PM IST

Akiko Ihara, a flight deck crew aboard Kaga, guides a SH-60K Sea Hawk helicopter. “Women all over the world are working in a wider number of areas and I think Japan needs to be a part of that,” Ihara said. The nine-year veteran says she has encountered no workplace discrimination, and would challenge any man who thinks women are unsuited for military life to work with her. (Kim Kyung-Hoon / REUTERS)

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Yuma Osaki, a navigator, prepares to blow a bugle as the Kaga departs for naval drills in the Indian Ocean. Japan’s demographic woes are taking it down a path taken years earlier by the US which lifted a ban on women on warships in 1993. Japan’s navy struggles more to find recruits than the air force or army, as young people balk at the prospect of being cut off on long deployments. (Kim Kyung-Hoon / REUTERS) expand-icon View Photos in a new improved layout
Updated on Oct 11, 2018 12:02 PM IST

Yuma Osaki, a navigator, prepares to blow a bugle as the Kaga departs for naval drills in the Indian Ocean. Japan’s demographic woes are taking it down a path taken years earlier by the US which lifted a ban on women on warships in 1993. Japan’s navy struggles more to find recruits than the air force or army, as young people balk at the prospect of being cut off on long deployments. (Kim Kyung-Hoon / REUTERS)

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A female navy nurse assists the ship’s dentist on Kaga in the Indian Ocean. The Maritime Self Defence Force (MSDF), which let women crew ships a decade ago, could soon also remove the last major barrier to female sailors by ending a ban on submarine duty, defence ministry sources have told Reuters. (Kim Kyung-Hoon / REUTERS) expand-icon View Photos in a new improved layout
Updated on Oct 11, 2018 12:02 PM IST

A female navy nurse assists the ship’s dentist on Kaga in the Indian Ocean. The Maritime Self Defence Force (MSDF), which let women crew ships a decade ago, could soon also remove the last major barrier to female sailors by ending a ban on submarine duty, defence ministry sources have told Reuters. (Kim Kyung-Hoon / REUTERS)

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A female cook (R) prepares sushi rolls for the ship’s meal in the galley on helicopter carrier Kaga in the Indian Ocean. Japan has one of the world’s largest navies, with 45,000 crew on more than 100 vessels, including about 20 submarines, more than 40 destroyers and four helicopter carriers, such as the Kaga. (Kim Kyung-Hoon / REUTERS) expand-icon View Photos in a new improved layout
Updated on Oct 11, 2018 12:02 PM IST

A female cook (R) prepares sushi rolls for the ship’s meal in the galley on helicopter carrier Kaga in the Indian Ocean. Japan has one of the world’s largest navies, with 45,000 crew on more than 100 vessels, including about 20 submarines, more than 40 destroyers and four helicopter carriers, such as the Kaga. (Kim Kyung-Hoon / REUTERS)

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A female sailor (C) watches a live fire drill of a 12.7mm machine gun in Japanese helicopter carrier Kaga in the Indian Ocean. Better facilities and privacy safeguards will draw more women to sign up, the MSDF hopes (Kim Kyung-Hoon / REUTERS) expand-icon View Photos in a new improved layout
Updated on Oct 11, 2018 12:02 PM IST

A female sailor (C) watches a live fire drill of a 12.7mm machine gun in Japanese helicopter carrier Kaga in the Indian Ocean. Better facilities and privacy safeguards will draw more women to sign up, the MSDF hopes (Kim Kyung-Hoon / REUTERS)

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The sign of the women’s toilet is seen on the Kaga displaying vacant. Signs at the entrance to the women’s segregated sleeping quarters on Kaga warn men to keep out. The women inside carry electronic pagers that can be contacted via numerical keypads beside the doors. (Kim Kyung-Hoon / REUTERS) expand-icon View Photos in a new improved layout
Updated on Oct 11, 2018 12:02 PM IST

The sign of the women’s toilet is seen on the Kaga displaying vacant. Signs at the entrance to the women’s segregated sleeping quarters on Kaga warn men to keep out. The women inside carry electronic pagers that can be contacted via numerical keypads beside the doors. (Kim Kyung-Hoon / REUTERS)

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Miku Ihara, 22, a woman cadet on the Kaga, says she reads books or studies when off-duty, but misses access to Line and Instagram. Sailors are limited to sending four text emails every day when at sea. “You just have to get used to not having it and make the most of it when you do,” she added. (Kim Kyung-Hoon / REUTERS) expand-icon View Photos in a new improved layout
Updated on Oct 11, 2018 12:02 PM IST

Miku Ihara, 22, a woman cadet on the Kaga, says she reads books or studies when off-duty, but misses access to Line and Instagram. Sailors are limited to sending four text emails every day when at sea. “You just have to get used to not having it and make the most of it when you do,” she added. (Kim Kyung-Hoon / REUTERS)

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Damage control team member Ayako Yoneda attends a briefing for an emergency fire drill on Kaga. The presence of women on board has had one unexpected benefit on the men that report to him, says Command Master Chief Yasuharu Tohno, the most senior enlisted sailor on board. “They shave regularly and iron their clothes,” said Tohno, who joined up to an all-male fleet 35 years ago. (Kim Kyung-Hoon / REUTERS) expand-icon View Photos in a new improved layout
Updated on Oct 11, 2018 12:02 PM IST

Damage control team member Ayako Yoneda attends a briefing for an emergency fire drill on Kaga. The presence of women on board has had one unexpected benefit on the men that report to him, says Command Master Chief Yasuharu Tohno, the most senior enlisted sailor on board. “They shave regularly and iron their clothes,” said Tohno, who joined up to an all-male fleet 35 years ago. (Kim Kyung-Hoon / REUTERS)

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