Video Message from Prime Minister ISHIBA Shigeru on International Women’s Day

I am ISHIBA Shigeru, Prime Minister of Japan. March 8 is International Women’s Day, which was declared by the United Nations in 1975. I would like to once again express my respect and gratitude to all those who are actively working for women’s empowerment and gender equality both in Japan and around the world.

Women’s empowerment and gender equality are indispensable elements for realizing a society in which all people feel their purpose in life and diversity is respected and for sustainably developing Japan’s economy and society.

The first pillar of our administration’s “Regional Revitalization 2.0” initiative is to create regional areas that are chosen by young people and women. We believe it is crucial to foster new encounters, discoveries, and the dreams and possibilities that arise from them, so that young people and women can feel a sense of enjoyment.

To create workplaces where young people, particularly women, find it attractive and comfortable to work, we will seek to eliminate unconscious bias, which I’m told essentially refers to unconscious assumptions. We will also strive to overcome such a way of thinking and rectify wage disparities between men and women, which are said to be one of the largest in the world. Furthermore, we must actively promote the use of short-time regular employee system, which allows individuals to receive regular employee benefits while maintaining a comfortable work-life balance. We will also work to eliminate [the dramatic drop in the percentage of women working as regular employees when they give birth, known as] the “L-shaped curve” seen in the employment of women and promote the uptake of childcare leave among men. These efforts will lead to changes in the structure of society as well as to changes in people’s awareness.

Here as we mark International Women's Day, as prime minister, I pledge once again to do my utmost to ensure that all women, in Japan and throughout the world, can walk vibrantly along the paths that they have chosen for themselves.