Japan Ends Male-Only Court Night Shifts, Women says this is not Gender Equality
A new administrative decision by Japan’s Supreme Court (which is actually doing what a supreme court is supposed to do) has just kicked off one of the country’s hottest debates of the year when it comes to gender equality in the workplace.
Historically, overnight duty at the courts in Tokyo and Osaka — responsible for handling urgent requests and issuing court warrants in the middle of the night — was an obligation assigned exclusively to male employees.
Yep. For years, only MEN worked overnight at these courts, while female employees went home to sleep.
Now, Japan’s highest court has decided to overhaul that policy: overnight shifts will be distributed equally, regardless of gender.
But guess what happened? Some female employees are complaining and arguing that this isn’t gender equality.
What Changed About Overnight Court Duty in Japan?
The measure is part of a broader plan to restructure Japan’s judicial system. The Supreme Court of Japan wants to centralize overnight and emergency operations from across the country at courts in the two largest metropolitan areas, Tokyo and Osaka.
With this centralization, the expected workload could increase fivefold. Rather than hiring a dedicated additional workforce to handle the increased demand, the administration chose the fastest option: putting everyone into the overnight rotation, including women.
The main changes announced include:
- End of male-only duty: Overnight work will no longer be restricted to men.
- Mandatory rotation: All employees at the Tokyo and Osaka courts will be included in the overnight rotation.
- Surge in warrant requests: The number of court warrants processed at night is expected to increase by as much as five times compared with the previous workload.
Female Employees Push Back: “Equal Work Doesn’t Always Mean Fairness”
The reaction published in the union bulletin (Zen-Shihou Shinbun) revealed strong frustration among female public servants.
In posts that circulated on the old Twitter/X through users such as @yamataka9999 and @wagahaineko001, female employees argued that the judicial leadership had confused “mechanically dividing tasks” with actual equality.
They published a piece explaining why they believe this is a bad idea. Here’s what they had to say:
1. Biological Impact and Women’s Health
The article published by the union newspaper argues that overnight shift work affects the endocrine system and hormonal balance, citing medical concerns involving menstrual irregularities and potential effects on fertility. The workers also questioned the lack of guidelines from the Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare (MHLW) regarding appropriate rest areas or regular medical checkups before imposing overnight shifts.
2. Japan’s Double Burden and Motherhood
Even in modern Japan, the traditional social structure still places much of the responsibility for childcare and household chores on women.
One female employee pointed out: “They talk about ‘exemptions’ for mothers, but the word exemption sounds dismissive, as if they’re doing you a favor. That makes many women afraid to ask for one, so they end up overworked until they get sick.”
3. The Lack of Digital Infrastructure
The unified online warrant system (LinKage) is still under development and has not been fully implemented. The female employees argue that forcing people into overnight work without the software being ready and without creating a specialized department with a night-shift premium simply transfers administrative inefficiency onto the workers themselves.
So, let’s see how some Japanese people reacted to the news:
- This way, men inevitably end up being stuck with the toughest parts, yet they don’t care at all if men suffer fatal workplace accidents, commit suicide, or starve to death. Incredible.
- It’s terrifying that employees with absolutely no sense of human rights like these are conducting court proceedings. For Japan’s sake, please, all of them should quit.
- I know women who work as nurses and caregivers, and they do night shifts normally. Using hormonal balance as an excuse is nothing but hypocrisy.
- Nurses and female doctors work night shifts. They don’t go around saying, “But what about hormonal balance!” Because it’s their job. This is just an attempt to change the subject to justify not wanting to work overnight. Fire them!
- And yet they get angry when the average annual income of women is lower than that of men. It’s so arrogant that it’s almost laughable. Men are working hard during the exact overnight shifts you’re refusing to do. Of course that contributes to them earning higher salaries!
- It’s crazy how they use the ability to get pregnant and have children as leverage at times like this. I’d bet they’re the same people who complain about men’s low participation in raising children.
- If women can’t work overnight because of hormonal balance or the effects of menstruation, then it wouldn’t be surprising if someone argued that women shouldn’t hold important positions in politics, economics, management, the judiciary and other fields, since the psychological pressure of those jobs could negatively affect their health and ability to have children.
- “Men suffer relatively less from it, so let them do it.” What kind of argument is that? Honestly, it’s absolutely infuriating.
- They say telling a woman to have children is harassment, but when they don’t want to work, they use their ability to get pregnant as a shield. Convenient, isn’t it?
- They ignore the hormonal balance of nurses who work night shifts, but when it comes to working at a court, they demand special consideration. What kind of reasoning is that?
Yeah… looks like the crowd didn’t exactly side with them. They’ll have to work those overnight shifts after all.