 In 1920, following an investigation into female workers' conditions in textile factories in Nagoya which further galvanized her political resolve, Hiratsuka founded the New Women's Association (, "Shin-fujin kyokai") together with fellow women's rights activist Ichikawa Fusae.It was largely through this group's efforts that the Article 5 of the Police Security Regulations—which, enacted in 1900, had barred women from joining political organizations and holding or attending political meetings—was overturned in 1922.Women's suffrage, however, remained elusive in Japan.