A Japanese politician received 8,000 death threats for the unforgivable crime of suggesting public restrooms should have menstrual products — welcome to the insane world where advocating for basic feminine hygiene gets you put on a hit list.
At a Glance
- Ayaka Yoshida, a 27-year-old Japanese politician, received nearly 8,000 death threat emails after advocating for menstrual products in public restrooms
- The barrage of threats came after she posted on social media about the lack of sanitary napkins at Tsu City Hall
- Threatening emails were systematically sent at one-minute intervals over several days, mocking her for not carrying emergency supplies
- Yoshida filed a police complaint while expressing fear about the intimidation affecting her role as an elected official
- Nearly half of Japanese women don’t take time off during periods despite serious pain, highlighting the cultural stigma around menstruation
Communist Party Member Gets 8,000 Death Threats Over Sanitary Pads
In what has to be one of the most ridiculous overreactions in modern political discourse, Ayaka Yoshida, a 27-year-old member of the Japanese Communist Party serving in the Mie Prefecture assembly, has been bombarded with nearly 8,000 death threats. Her heinous crime? Suggesting that public restrooms should stock menstrual products. Yes, folks, in 2025, advocating for basic female hygiene necessities is apparently worthy of death threats in some corners of Japanese society.
The emails poured in at one-minute intervals from Friday evening through Monday afternoon – a coordinated attack that reveals far more about the senders’ derangement than anything about Yoshida’s reasonable request.
The firestorm began when Yoshida posted on social media about her experience at Tsu City Hall, where she found herself “caught off guard” by her period with no sanitary products available in the restroom. “I hope menstrual pads can be provided like toilet paper,” she wrote – a statement so benign and logical that only the most unhinged minds could find it offensive. Yet somehow, this modest proposal for basic female hygiene necessities triggered thousands of threatening messages, many with subject lines mocking her for not carrying emergency supplies. Because apparently, women should just silently manage their bodily functions without inconveniencing anyone by suggesting infrastructure improvements.
The Left-Wing Menstruation Conspiracy
Of course, it probably doesn’t help that Yoshida is a member of the Japanese Communist Party, making her an easy target for those who see communists hiding under every bed – or in this case, behind every menstrual pad dispenser. The vicious response to her completely reasonable suggestion exposes the bizarre intersection of anti-communist sentiment and misogyny that exists in certain corners of Japanese society. Since when did basic feminine hygiene become a radical leftist plot? Are we supposed to believe that only communists menstruate? The absurdity would be laughable if it weren’t so disturbing that thousands of threatening emails were sent to intimidate an elected official into silence over such a mundane issue.
“I’m very scared. I have been engaging in my duties to fulfill my responsibility as a prefectural assembly member, and these emails intimidate me. I hope the police will conduct a thorough investigation”, says Ayaka Yoshida.
While the threats are obviously concerning, equally disturbing is what this reaction reveals about attitudes toward women’s health in Japan. A survey by Deloitte Tohmatsu Group found that 44% of Japanese women don’t take time off during their periods – even when experiencing serious pain. This isn’t strength or dedication; it’s societal pressure forcing women to suffer in silence rather than acknowledge basic biological functions.
The same backward thinking that leads people to threaten a politician over menstrual products is what keeps women toughing it out through debilitating pain rather than asking for accommodations. And we wonder why Japan is facing demographic challenges with plummeting birth rates.
The Real Threat to Society
Yoshida has filed a police complaint regarding the threats, which thankfully has been accepted. But let’s be clear about what’s happening here: a young female politician is being terrorized for suggesting that half the population might occasionally need basic hygiene products in public spaces. The threatening emails claimed to have “the effect of intimidating me and suppressing my activities as a prefectural assembly member” – which is exactly the point.
This isn’t about menstrual products; it’s about silencing women who dare to suggest that public spaces should accommodate their needs. It’s about maintaining a status quo where women’s biological functions remain shameful secrets rather than normal parts of life deserving of basic accommodation.
The real threat to Japanese society isn’t communist menstrual pads in government buildings – it’s a culture where suggesting such a thing gets you 8,000 death threats. It’s a culture where women’s basic needs are seen as political statements rather than matters of public health and dignity. It’s a culture where anonymous cowards can terrorize elected officials for speaking up about women’s issues.
If Japan wants to address its demographic crisis and join the modern world, perhaps it could start by acknowledging that women menstruate and that accommodating this reality isn’t some radical leftist agenda – it’s basic human decency. Until then, Japan’s real period problem isn’t a lack of pads in restrooms – it’s the prehistoric attitudes about women’s bodies that still pervade its society.
