Minister’s Message on International Women’s Day 2023

Minister’s Message on International Women’s Day 2023

Hello, everyone. I am OGURA Masanobu, Minister in charge of Women’s Empowerment and Minister of State for Gender Equality.

Over the years, Japan has developed its policies for gender equality and women’s empowerment under international cooperation and with reference to initiatives in other countries and international organizations. In the 1975 International Women’s Year, we established the office for women’s issues, the predecessor of today’s Gender Equality Bureau of the Cabinet Office, and promoted various measures based on domestic action plans. Subsequently, we amended domestic laws to ratify the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women, which the UN General Assembly adopted in 1979. We also enacted the Basic Act for a Gender-Equal Society following the organization of the World Conference on Women in Beijing in 1995, and we established the Council for Gender Equality and the Gender Equality Bureau.

On behalf of Japan, I would like to express my sincerest respect and gratitude to you all on the occasion of International Women’s Day 2023. We couldn’t have made the progress we have today without the years of efforts put in by all of those sharing the goal of gender equality.

Japan has driven initiatives for gender equality and women’s empowerment forward with unprecedented speed in recent years. The number of women workers has increased by approximately 3.7 million compared to 2012, and the number of women executives has risen by about 5.8 times in the same period. These results have come from concerted public- and private-sector efforts to promote women’s empowerment as one of the pillars of growth strategy.

The Kishida Administration has also positioned “women’s economic empowerment” at the core of its “New Form of Capitalism”. The entire government is working hand in hand to resolve issues women face every day, such as correcting the pay gap, promoting reskilling, and eradicating violence against women.

Japan holds the G7 presidency this year and the Ministerial Meeting on Gender Equality and Women’s Empowerment will take place in June in Nikko City, Tochigi Prefecture. It will be the first G7 Ministerial Meeting on Gender Equality and Women’s Empowerment to be held in Japan.

I believe the meeting will be an opportunity for us to present Japan’s initiatives for gender equality and women’s empowerment to the international community. I further see it important for Japan to contribute even more to international discussions and initiatives concerning these matters.

At the same time, I expect the meeting will be a significant opportunity to gain valuable insights for further advancing related measures and initiatives while nurturing gender equality in Japan.

Today, March 8, is also known as Mimosa Day. I am told this name comes from the custom of giving mimosa flowers to express gratitude. As a minister in charge of gender equality and women’s empowerment, I would like to conclude my message on this International Women’s Day with a renewed pledge to do my utmost every day towards achieving two goals. One is to leverage this opportunity for maximum results to promote gender equality and women's empowerment so that the day lily, a flower that blooms in early summer in Nikko, can be remembered as a new symbol of gender equality and women’s empowerment in Japan. And the other is the realization of a society that allows all women to realize their potential and demonstrate their individuality and abilities to the fullest.

March 8, 2023

OGURA Masanobu

Minister in charge of Women’s Empowerment
Minister of State for Gender Equality