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On June 27, 2018, Prime Minister Shinzo Abe attended the Award Ceremony in Relation to the Realization of a Gender-Equal Society, and the Reception on Gender Equality, held at the Prime Minister’s Office.
 
In his address at the Award Ceremony, the Prime Minister said,
 
“I would like to extend my sincere congratulations to all the recipients of the awards today.
 
Since the inauguration of the Abe Cabinet, we have been hoisting the flag high for the active participation of women, and exerting our full efforts into the relevant initiatives. In the past five years, the number of females employed has increased by 2 million. The female employment rate among the childrearing generation has risen by 5% in one fell swoop, and the so-called ‘M-shaped curve’ issue is going to be resolved. Two years ago, the employment rate for women in Japan exceeded at last that of the United Sates for all age groups of women age 25 and above.
 
We can change our societies. It solely depends on our will and resolve. The actions of individuals, backed by a strong will and resolve, will drive social change. This is what I believe.
 
All the award recipients today have made great contributions with your strong will and ability to take action towards the realization of a society in which women are active, a gender-equal society, through long years of hard work in your respective fields, including local governments, commerce and industry, as well as support for victims of domestic violence. I would like to express my deepest respect for all the activities you have undertaken to this date.
 
At the same time, we are still only halfway there. We have much to be done moving forward. Within this context, I would like to ask all of you to become even more active in your respective fields. I have great confidence that all of you will become strong pillars of support and role models for the youths who will succeed you.
 
In conclusion, I hope that you will take the opportunity of this award to pursue greater success in your future endeavors. Once again, my sincere congratulations.”
 
Following that, the Prime Minister said in his address at the reception,
 
“The active participation of women is a major pillar of the Abe Cabinet, and I am truly pleased to see that you are all truly playing an active part in your respective fields in your respective communities.
 
We have prepared a meal for this reception today. While this may seem a little patronizing, the truth is that it is an exceptionally uncommon practice for us to serve meals at the Prime Minister’s Office. However, since everyone has taken the time to gather here today, I hope you will enjoy it.
 
There is apparently an ‘Otouhan’ campaign (‘Get Dads Cooking’ Campaign) aimed at encouraging male partners to support women by cooking delicious meals. A dish that I am good at making is yakisoba (fried noodles), and I am not trying to sound like a show off, but it is really delicious. Adding Tabasco sauce gives it an extremely good but subtle flavor, although becoming too enthusiastic and adding too much makes the dish inedible. My yakisoba dish is quite popular and has a good reputation, if I do say so myself, and I hope you have a chance to try it. Anyway, I always say on these occasions that what Japan needs going forward is diversity, and the active participation of women. In particular, while Japan’s population is on the decline for now, I believe that Japan will have no future if we do not have women working hard in each community and field of work.
 
I, also, often say that if Lehman Brothers had been ‘Lehman Brothers and Sisters,’ it would not have gone bankrupt. Hence, the power of women is of great importance.
 
I hope that you will all take the opportunity of the reception today to interact with one another, and I wish great success for all of you. Once again, my heartfelt congratulations.”