Considering respect for individuals and equality under the law expressly stipulated under the Constitution, steady progress has been made in Japan through a number of efforts toward the realization of genuine equality between women and men together with efforts taken by the international community. However, even greater effort is required.

At the same time, to respond to the rapid changes occurring in Japan's socioeconomic situation, such as the trend toward fewer children, the aging of the population, and the maturation of domestic economic activities, the realization of a Gender Equal Society, in which men and women respect the other's human rights and share their happiness and responsibilities, and every citizen is able to fully exercise their individuality and abilities regardless of gender, is a top-priority task in determining the framework of 21st-century Japan.

Under such an appreciation, the Basic Law for a Gender Equal Society was promulgated and enforced in June 1999 in order to clarify the basic principles with regard to formation of a Gender-equal Society, to set a course to this end, and to promote efforts by the State and local governments and citizens with regard to formation of a Gender-equal Society comprehensively and systematically.

In the past, the government has produced reports on "The Present Status of Gender Equality and Measures" in order to follow up on the progress of the Plan for Gender Equality 2000: National Plan of Action for the Promotion of a Gender Equal Society by the Year 2000 (hereinafter referred to as the Plan for Gender Equality 2000) adopted by the Headquarters for the Promotion of Gender Equality in December 1996. However, this year, based on Article 12 of the Basic Law for a Gender Equal Society, the report will cover the state of the gender equal society and the policies that the government has taken to promote the formation of a gender equal society. In addition, it will also clarify the policies that the government is going to implement to promote the formation of the gender equal society.

This report is the first to be based on the Basic Law for a Gender Equal Society. First, it will summarize the state of the formation of a gender equal society in Part 1 called "FY1999 Annual Report on the State of the Formation of a Gender Equal Society" that, as far as possible, provides comparisons with 1975, which was International Women's Year, and clarifies where changes have taken place. Part 2 summarizes the policies that the government has implemented in FY1999 based on the outline of the Plan for Gender Equality 2000. Following this, the report will clarify the various policies for FY2000 with a focus on policies that are to be newly implemented in "Policies to be Implemented in FY2000 to Promote the Formation of a Gender Equal Society."