ニュース 2014/07/07 Matsubara criticises gender-biased remarks On July 7, DPJ Diet Affairs Committee Chair Jin Matsubara commented to reporters in the Diet on the news that the Chair of the Committee on Internal Affairs and Communications　in the House of Representatives had that same day issued a statement condemning gender-biased comments made in the Committee as “disgraceful”. These statements were made in a Committee session on April 17, when LDP Diet member Hideo Onishi engaged in sexist heckling as a female Diet member from the Japan Restoration Party was asking questions regarding measures to deal with Japan’s falling population, calling out, “You need to hurry up, get married and have kids”. Matsubara pointed out, “Such comments, made by an LDP Diet member to a female lawmaker, just like similar ones made in the Tokyo Metropolitan Assembly that have been the focus of debate, are reprehensible remarks which are defamatory, dehumanizing and offend against human rights.” He added, “People hold a variety of views regarding the practice of heckling itself, but heckling which is defamatory and offends against human rights at least is unacceptable from the point of view of maintaining our honour as Diet members. I urge Mr. Onishi to undertake some serious soulsearching.”