Feminist Japan TV anchor fired for raising stink over ‘hard to endure’ men’s body odour
- TV presenter sparks fierce backlash by saying men should shower more, stokes heated debate about country’s patriarchal culture
A Japanese television news anchor was dismissed from her job and faced an online backlash after a controversial post in which she claimed that men’s body odour was “hard to endure”, and suggested they shower more often.
Tokyo-based Yuri Kawaguchi, 29, is a freelance announcer known for her feminist views, who also works as a lecturer for harassment prevention training.
On August 8, she took to X social networking platform, where she has about 13,000 followers, to voice her frustrations about men’s hygiene in summer, advising them to use deodorant and take showers to stay clean.
“I’m really sorry if there’s a personal situation, but the smell of men in the summer or the body odour of unsanitary people is so uncomfortable,” she wrote.
“I want to be clean, so I take several showers a day, use freshening wipes, and apply sweat inhibitors year-round. I think more men should do this.”
Kawaguchi’s post, perceived as specifically targeting men, deeply offended many and led to accusations of gender discrimination.
