'Awkward' photo reflects persistent inequality in Japan

The fact that host country Japan sent a male representative to the summit raises questions about how women in the country can fight for equality when they don't even have a "seat" at the negotiating table.

Painful problem

Late last month, the Group of Seven (G7) held a ministerial meeting on women’s empowerment and gender equality in Nikko, Japan. Many were surprised when the host country, Japan, this year’s G7 chair, was the only country to send a male representative to the meeting. Time magazine called the photo of the delegates “an awkward snapshot that highlights the continuing gender inequality in Japan.”

Delegates attending the G7 Ministerial Meeting discuss gender equality and women's empowerment (Source: Jiji Press)

The meeting comes just days after the World Economic Forum released its “Global Gender Gap Report 2023,” which measures gender disparities across four key areas including economics, politics, health and education. Japan ranked 125th out of 146 economies – its lowest position ever – below both developed countries and other G7 members. Regionally, Japan also ranked lowest among 19 countries in East Asia and the Pacific.

Japan’s low ranking is due to the low representation of women in politics and the economy. Gender equality remains a major challenge for the land of the rising sun. A rapidly aging population and shrinking workforce have put Japan’s economy under strain. One study has shown that the labor shortage will increase in the coming decades, with an estimated shortfall of more than 11 million workers by 2040.

In an economy like Japan that is struggling with a labor shortage, women are an underutilized resource. Japan has one of the highest literacy rates in the world and 46% of university graduates are female. Yet at the prestigious University of Tokyo, only about 20% of students are women. In addition, some universities have been found to discriminate against female students.

In 2018, Tokyo Medical University admitted to manipulating the test scores of female applicants for more than a decade to ensure it had more male doctors. The case led to other universities admitting to similar discriminatory practices.

Despite a large proportion of female graduates entering the workforce, the employment rate for women in this country tends to decline for those in their 30s. The reason is that they have to temporarily stop or quit their jobs to stay home to focus on taking care of their children.

Recognizing that Japan's competitiveness and productivity depend on the increased participation of women, gender is one of the issues that Prime Minister Abe Shinzo (1954-2022) has been trying to address throughout his tenure.

Employment rates for Japanese women tend to decline for those in their 30s as they have to stop or quit their jobs to focus on childcare. (Source: Getty Images)

“Womenomics” - a society where women shine

In September 2013, speaking at the United Nations General Assembly, Mr. Abe announced his intention to create “a society where women shine.” A key part of his signature “Abenomics” strategy, launched that same year, is “womenomics,” which aims to increase female employment rates to levels in other developed economies and promote women’s participation in management roles. He also pledged to invest more in education and childcare.

But after a decade of “womenomics,” the results have been mixed. Abe’s government has increased women’s participation in the workforce, but many of the new jobs created are low-wage or informal (part-time or temporary with low security and few benefits). Nearly 70 percent of Japan’s nonregular workforce is female, and more than half of women’s jobs are nonregular.

The Japanese government has also failed to meet its target of having 30% of leadership positions held by women by 2020. Gender equality has also not improved in public life in Japan, with women’s political participation among the lowest globally. The current cabinet under Prime Minister Fumio Kishida has 19 members, but only two are women.

In June 2023, Prime Minister Kishida announced similar measures to tackle gender inequality, such as a target for large companies to have more than 30% female executives by 2030, but this is not mandatory.

As of July last year, 18.7% of Japan’s top companies had no female board members, and only 2.2% had more than 30% of executive positions held by women. Mr. Kishida’s government also plans to take other measures, such as expanding childcare benefits, supporting female students in STEM education, and investing in businesses founded by women.

There is no quick fix for Japan’s gender issues due to socio-cultural challenges. History shows that the ideal social value of “ryousai kenbo” – a good daughter-in-law and good wife – promoted during the Meiji period rationalized the division of gender roles, in which men would work and women would take care of the home. These traditional expectations have been deeply ingrained in post-war Japanese society.

Japan's 2023 White Paper on Gender Equality found that women bear a disproportionate burden of housework and childcare, even when the wife works full-time. The Covid-19 pandemic has also worsened Japan's gender gap, with female employees more likely to lose their jobs or face labor penalties due to the need to spend more time caring for children during lockdowns.

For an economy like Japan that is struggling with a labor shortage, women have long been an underutilized resource. (Source: Getty Images)

Clearly, more practical solutions are needed to address these long-term challenges, including reducing systemic barriers to women’s access to higher-status jobs, reducing the gender pay gap, and improving work-life balance. More concrete policies such as setting mandatory gender quotas and targets in both the economy and politics could also be considered.

Increasing women's political presence and raising women's voices in public life will be key to promoting women's power and gender equality in Japan.

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