Japan springs to action after dire report on women’s participation in society

Tokyo — Japan plans to “aggressively” push for women's participation in society, especially in politics, top government spokesperson Matsuno Hirokazu said on Wednesday after an annual report showed the country was struggling to narrow the gender gap.

The World Economic Forum report measuring gender parity ranked Japan 125th out of 146 countries this year, compared with 116th in last year's report.

“We need to humbly accept our country’s current situation,” Matsuno, the chief cabinet secretary, told reporters during a briefing.

In economic participation and opportunity, a category that examines labour force participation, wage equality and income showed, Japan was 123th, the lowest among East Asian and the Pacific countries.

Its gender parity in political empowerment was one of the lowest-ranked in the world, at 138th, behind China, Saudi Arabia and Turkey.

Only two out of 19 cabinet ministers under Prime Minister Kishida Fumio and roughly 10% of Lower House legislators are women.

Investors, particularly those overseas, are cranking up the pressure on Japanese businesses to diversify their boards, which traditionally are skewed towards older men.

Norges Bank Investment Management, the world’s largest sovereign wealth fund, will oppose the appointment of a board chairs for Japanese companies that do not have female board members, the Nikkei business daily reported in April.

Kishida laid out gender-equality initiative earlier in June, aiming to have at least 30% of top companies’ executive positions occupied by women by the end of the decade, from 2.2% in July 2022.

Voters and activists have also pushed politicians to take action. Earlier in June, the ruling Liberal Democratic Party compiled a plan to raise the percentage of its female legislators to 30%.

Reuters