Outrage is growing in Japan after lawmakers hurled sexist comments at an assemblywoman giving a speech this week about the need for more services for women . Male colleagues heckled Your Party member Ayaka Shiomura on Wednesday during a Tokyo assembly meeting . They interrupted her with comments urging her to get married and questioning whether she could bear children . Shiomura had taken the stage to urge the Tokyo Metropolitan government to increase efforts to support women . Citing recent regulations that require mothers to fold up their strollers when boarding a train , she outlined struggles Japanese women face when dealing with pregnancy and raising a child due to lack of public support . She also addressed the issue of infertility . However , she was interrupted by a male member of the ruling LDP who shouted , `` You should get married ! '' Shiomura smiled weakly and continued amid male laughter . A second outburst , `` Ca n't you even bear a child ? '' followed as tears welled up in her eyes and her voice began to break . When she sat down after her speech , she was seen drying her eyes with a handkerchief . Later , she posted on Facebook that the outbursts were like `` a punch in the gut '' and called on the hecklers to come forward . Backlash ensued , with television pundits debating the incident and women lawmakers demanding the names of those responsible be released . Sexism in common in the nation 's workplace , and there have been concerns that Japan 's fertility rate will continue to drop as more women choose careers instead of marriage and children . Prime Minister Shinzo Abe has attempted to fill a gender gap in the workplace through `` Womenomics , '' but men still hold the majority of positions of authority and command greater salaries . Men in Japan earn 30 % more than their female counterparts , according to statistics cited by Abe during an editorial last year announcing the launch of `` Womenomics . '' Statistics from the National Personnel Authority show just 3 % of women are managers in Japan 's central government , a number the Prime Minister has said is too low . The goal is to increase that number to 30 % by the 2020 Tokyo Olympics , Abe has said .
Male protesters confronted assemblywoman Ayaka Williams . They interrupted her with statements urging her to get married . They also questioned whether she could bear children .