Japan has been seeing lower birthrates and an increase in the population of the aged. The total fertility rate (the total live birthrate for women in all age brackets for a certain year; in other words, the number of births per woman during her lifetime) has been declining since it fell below 2.00 in 1975. This is partly because the percentage of unmarried persons has been increasing in Japan.

The average age for a first marriage has been rising. As of 2002, Japanese men marrying for the first time are 29.1 years old on average; and the average age for Japanese women marrying for the first time stands at 27.4 years old. Women in their late 20s used to have the highest fertility rate in the past, but now approximately half of women in this age bracket still remain unmarried. The lifelong single rate (the percentage of people who are still single at age 50) has increased dramatically since 1960, particularly among men.

The aging rate (the proportion of the total population aged 65 years and over) has also been rising rapidly. Japan's population is aging mainly due to lower birthrates and longer life expectancies. The average life expectancy for women is 85.23 years as of 2002 and 78.32 years for men.

The percentage of students advancing to high school in Japan is extremely high, with the percentage of female students exceeding that of male students.

In terms of higher education level, most male students choose universities (undergraduate-level). On the other hand, some female students go to universities (undergraduate-level), while other female students enter junior colleges. Recently, more female students have been enrolling in four-year universities, while the percentage of female junior college students has been falling. Female students have recently come to major in more diversified areas.

The labor force participation rate of Japanese women shows an M-shaped curve with their participation declining due to marriage, childbirth and childcare. On the other hand, many women have a strong desire to work throughout their childbirth/childcare years. The latent labor force participation rate, which incorporates the labor force participation rate with the ratio of nonworking women willing to work, approximates an inverse U-shape curve.

In terms of how Japanese married couples spend their time, husbands spend little time on household duties, childcare and nursing care, regardless of whether their wives work or do not work. As a result, working wives have to shoulder their heavy responsibilities both at home and at work.

Recently, employment patterns have been particularly diversified. Part-time workers, temporary employees, contract workers and other non-regular workers account for a higher percentage both for men and women. This trend is particularly noticeable among female workers.

Japanese women accounted for 55.3% of the total labor force engaged in agriculture in 2003, 16.7% in forestry in 2002, and 16.6% in fisheries in 2002. Women engaged in agriculture, forestry and fisheries play important roles in their respective industries and contribute greatly to supporting livelihood and maintaining/revitalizing local communities. In terms of women's participation in local policy decision-making processes, women still account for a low percentage in agricultural committees responsible for coordinating farmland usage, but this percentage has been gradually increasing from 1.64% in 1999 to 1.82% in 2000 and 2.24% in 2001.