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On June 25, 2018, Prime Minister Shinzo Abe attended the Kickoff Discussion with ‘*STEM Girls Ambassadors’ at the Prime Minister's Office.
 
The Prime Minister said in his address,
 
“Thank you very much for taking time out of your busy schedules to take part in this opportunity today.
 
I also thank all of you for introducing yourselves. I believe I found great diversity here. At the same time, I felt the combination of being a student at the Faculty of Engineering at the University of Tokyo and being selected as Miss International Japan 2018 was beyond my imagination. Meanwhile, I was also aware that the notion such that it is impossible is exactly what we call a stereotype.
 
These days, new products are being developed one after another from unique perspectives of women, such as a vehicle that enables holding children while getting in and out, as well as a ‘Green Smoothie’ that contains one full serving of vegetables with just one pack. Diversity and innovation with unique perspectives of women are extremely important to vitalize the process of innovation in Japan. That said, there have still been few women in the science and engineering fields. For instance, only 27 percent of the students majoring in science are female, and women make up only 15 percent of all engineering students. If this situation does not change, Japan will fall far behind, not only in terms of globalization and innovation, but also in the progression of our society. Today, we have gathered women who can serve as role models for girls in elementary schools, junior high schools, and high schools. I hope your continued efforts to spread your messages about the STEM fields and inspire many girls to work hard, make valuable contributions to society and the world in these fields, and shape their own lives.
 
It may sound like I am boasting a bit, but during the Abe administration, we have seen an additional 2 million women enter the workforce, and the number of women in executive positions has doubled. This has been achieved within just five years. Anyone who wants to criticize this says that this was all achieved because there were so few women working in these positions to start with, but nevertheless, I would like to increase these numbers even further. We have gathered front runners who are making breakthroughs on this issue, and I think it is extremely important that we continue to break through the walls created by these stereotypes.
 
I watched the soccer match with Senegal this morning until 2 a.m. I hope that you will all join me in taking on challenges with the spirit of breaking through a high hurdle.”
 
*Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics