Women in Japan Today 2004

Message from the President of the Headquarters
for the Promotion of Gender Equality

Prime Minister and President of the Headquarters for the Promotion of Gender Equality,
Junichiro Koizumi

Women’s active participation in various fields of society will generate new ideas and values, give positive impacts on men’s activities, and lead to energizing society as a whole. Promoting the formation of a gender-equal society represents “structural reform in our daily life,” which we all must fully endeavor to achieve.

The Japanese government has been encouraging women’s active participation in society by launching a strategy for no children waiting lists for day-care centers and support measures for the balancing of work and child raising. Today, women are playing highly important roles in various fields such as construction engineers and pilots as well as in humanitarian and reconstruction assistance to Iraq. Moreover, certain highly motivated women have joined the Koizumi administration as cabinet ministers, while others have become business managers winning high praise from the international community.

To further encourage this trend, it is necessary to appropriately strike a balance between various government measures for addressing the falling birthrate, aging society, and policies for the upbringing of youth as well as to gain public understanding from men and women across various generations. With this in mind, the Japanese government will continuously work in collaboration with local governments and voluntary bodies to support the challenging spirit of women.

Message from the Minister for Gender Equality

The Council for Gender Equality and the Gender Equality Bureau were established within the Cabinet Office in January 2001, thereby enhancing the national machinery for the promotion of gender equality under the strong leadership of the Cabinet. Through such framework, the government launched “Support Measures for the Balancing of Work and Child Raising,” “Measures to Support Women’s Challenges” and other comprehensive policies for the promotion of gender equality, and has been systematically pushing ahead with these policies.

Currently, the Japanese government puts emphasis on increasing the percentage of female leaders to at least 30% in every field of society by the year 2020 as the priority target. Taking the lead in addressing gender equality, the government has been making efforts to enlarge the recruitment and the promotion of female national public officers and to promote the participation of women members in national advisory councils and committees. I have no doubt that women members will successfully occupy 30% of all seats in national advisory councils and committes by the year 2005.

In addition, Japan lays weight on international cooperation as a basic philosophy for the formation of a gender-equal society. The ODA Charter, which was revised last year, clearly states the importance of gender equality and Japan’s efforts at improving women’s status as its basic policy and expresses Japan’s attitude towards contributing to the further enhancement of gender equality in the international community. Japan, moreover, pushes ahead with international human exchange activities at all levels, such as holding the “Policy Dialogue on Gender Equality” every year in order to foster discussions in line with the multi-year work program of the UN Commission on the Status of Women.

In collaboration with the international community, Japan will continue its endeavors to achieve gender equality both in Japan and throughout the entire world.

Chief Cabinet Secretary and Minister for Gender Equality,
Yasuo Fukuda

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