Executive project which also extends paternity rights and protection measures for victims of violence
The Japanese government aims to have at least 30% of women in executive roles in the country’s major companies by 2030, in an effort to align with the nations most advanced in promoting gender equality. The project announced by the executive aims to guarantee at least one woman on the board of directors of the main companies listed on the stock exchange by 2025, urging these companies to introduce new rules as early as this year. The plan also includes ensuring that male employees are entitled to paternity leave, and a system to maintain income for the family even when working part-time at least until the child is two years of age.
Furthermore, among the new proposals there is the strengthening of measures to protect women from sexual assaults and other forms of violence by partners, as well as the prevention of bullying in the workplace. In the latest study released in March by the World Bank on economic opportunities for women, Japan ranked 104th out of 190 countries, and was ranked 116th out of 146 countries in the gender gap ranking compiled by the World Economic Forum in 2022. The most recent population census showed that the number of births in 2022 in Japan decreased for the seventh consecutive year, falling below 800,000 for the first time since the statistics began in 1899.
