For a few months last year, it appeared as if a new wave of feminism was sweeping Japan, raising a clamorous challenge to age-old male authority. It began when housewives, enraged by a new tax, swarmed to political rallies, urging that a "voice from the kitchen" reach the male-dominated government. Socialist Takako Doi, the first woman in Japanese history to lead a major political party, inspired an unprecedented number of women to run for the Diet's upper house, and they grabbed a record number of seats. Prime Minister Sousuke Uno resigned in disgrace after a former geisha he had patronized broke...
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