Japan’s Late Embrace of Womenomics Raises Questions
In a surprising move, Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida has shown newfound interest in promoting “womenomics” with a recent cabinet reshuffle. For over two decades, Japanese leaders have toyed with the idea of empowering women, recognizing that countries and companies benefit from utilizing female talent.
Kishida’s decision to appoint five women to his cabinet, matching previous records, represents a significant shift in his approach. However, his comments about these appointments have raised eyebrows. Kishida mentioned that he hopes these female members will “make the most of their female sensibilities,” leading to accusations of tokenism.
Despite Japan’s rhetoric about empowering women, its ranking on gender parity has been slipping. In 2001, Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi was the first to discuss gender disparities in economic terms, but his actions did not match his words. His successor, Shinzo Abe, made similar pledges but failed to make meaningful progress in increasing the number of women in leadership positions.
Kishida’s recent focus on womenomics may be seen as a public relations move rather than a genuine commitment to gender equality. His cabinet reshuffle, while including women, retained underperforming ministers and overlooked key economic reforms.
Japan’s slow progress on gender equality is evident in global rankings, where it lags behind countries like South Korea and China. The lack of female representation in political power is also concerning, with Japan trailing behind countries like Cambodia and Saudi Arabia.
Japan’s recent embrace of womenomics is a welcome development, but it must be backed by concrete actions and meaningful reforms, such as appointing more women to key cabinet positions and incentivizing companies to promote gender diversity. Failure to do so will perpetuate gender inequality and hinder economic progress.
Re-reported from the article originally published in Forbes by William Pesek
