Womenomics - A Conference June 17th

onna bugeisha

At this year's World Economic Forum (WEF) Annual Meeting in Davos, Prime Minister Shinzo Abe personally committed to closing his country's gender gap and making Japan a place where "women shine." Substantial challenges lie ahead. Japan’s current performance on gender parity is sobering: in the World Economic Forum’s Global Gender Gap Report 2013, (October 25, 2013), Japan ranked 105 out of 136 countries.

Skeptics of Abe's new feminism also cite his long advocacy of traditional gender roles and opposition to Japan's constitutional rights for women. He has not supported the right of women to retain their own names or female succession to emperor. Even his position on Comfort Women is framed in traditionalist notions of women. Nevertheless, Abe has made "womenomics," a concept first penned by Goldman Sachs' Kathy Matsui in 2000, a key component of his Abenomics.

On June 3rd, the WEF Forum released Closing the Gender Gap in Japan. The report identifies three areas, in particular, where Japan is falling behind.

First, the participation gap: Japan has one of the lowest female labour participation rates among OECD countries. Only 63% of women work, compared to 85% of men; female employees are more than three times as likely as male employees to work part-time. Goldman Sachs estimates that closing the participation gap could boost Japan’s GDP by 13%. It is especially necessary given the country’s demographic outlook – the labour force is shrinking, the old age dependency ratio is growing and the fertility rate is one of the world’s lowest.

The second gap that needs to be addressed is the remuneration gap: on average, women earn only slightly over half of what men earn. This can only partially be explained by women working disproportionately in lower-paying professions; Japan ranks 87th globally in wage gaps for similar work, according to a survey of executives.

Finally, there is the advancement gap: while women comprise nearly half of all professional and technical workers, they make up only 9% of legislators, senior officials and managers. Encouragingly, investments already made in closing the education gap – women’s rate of enrolment in tertiary education now nearly matches that of men – mean that Japan is ideally poised for efforts to close the advancement gap.

The US-Asia Institute will hold a timely conference in Washington on June 17th that is open to the public to discuss all these issues.

THEGLOBAL IMPACT OF THE POWER OF WOMENOMICS

June 17, 2014 

10:30am- 2:00pm 

Washington, DC 

Sponsor
US-Asia Institute 

Location

Capitol Visitors Center 203-02 

Special Guests 

His Excellency Kenichiro SASAE, Ambassador from Japan

Ambassador Constance A. Morella, President, U.S. Association of Former Members of Congress

Keynote Speaker

Ms. Rui MATSUKAWA 

Director, Gender Mainstreaming Division, Japan Ministry of Foreign Affairs

Panel 1: Women in the Workplace: What Lessons and Challenges Do We Share
Featuring: Dr. Stephan DANNINGER, Senior Economist, International Monetary Fund
Ms. Tracey DOI, Group Vice President and Chief Financial Officer, Toyota Motor Sales, USA, Inc.
Mr. Terry TERASAWA, Chief Representative, The Bank of Tokyo
MODERATOR: Ambassador Constance MORELLA, President, U.S. Association of Former members of Congress

Panel 2: US-Japan Development Cooperation: Assistance for the Empowerment of women in Developing Countries
Framing the Discussion/Moderator: Ms. Manisa SINGH, Former Deputy Assistant Secretary of State
Respondents: Mr. Hajime TAKEUSHI, Chief Representative, JICA, USA Offices,
Ms. Sheila SMITH, Senior Fellow for Japan Studies, Council on Foreign Relations,
Mme Gouri MIRPURI, Founder, Learning Farm/HUB

Listening to Abe

On Friday afternoon in the basement of CSIS, the Prime Minister of Japan Shinzo Abe will give a presentation (Webcast). He will have just come from lunch and talks with US President Barack Obama.

It will not the first time that Abe has given a speech in Washington. And it is likely he will deliver it in English. At the recent Davos conclave, he sent in an English-language message to the attendees. He observed that "democracy is on the wax among assin' nations."

Abe is again getting public relations advice from Tomohiko Taniguchi who was recently appointed Naikaku Shingikan (Cabinet Councillor) for Public Relations. In the first Abe Administration, Taniguchi was Deputy Press Secretary for the Japanese Ministry of Foreign Affairs. A former Nikkei reporter, Taniguchi has spent the last few years as an adviser to the head of JR Central Kasai and the company's magazine The Wedge. In 2006, Taniguchi gave a presentation on Abe's foreign policy at The Brookings Institution where he described Abe as "one of the most relaxed lawmakers, a very much approachable figure, thereby winning bi-partisan support."

Abe has spoken publicly a number of times in Washington: AEI (2004), Brookings (2005 and 2009), and Hudson (2010). At times he startles his audience with awkward references to American literature or values.

In 2004, speaking at the American Enterprise Institute (AEI), he explained that Japan needed to change its Constitution and rid itself of the "mind control" imposed by the Americans.

Perhaps it was because of the trauma of defeat that postwar Japan looked upon its Constitution as an immutable code of laws. In this climate, the dominant sentiment was one that claimed that the Constitution should not be touched or changed in any way. In a sense, the whole nation was victim to a form of mind control. I believe that these tendencies must definitely be abolished.

Abe relaunched his political career at The Brookings Institution on April 17, 2009* with a speech entitled A New Era Requires a New Political Will.

Last time I gave a speech here was four years ago in 2005.  To end that speech, I quoted from Miles to Go, a book by Daniel Patrick Moynihan.  That quote went like this:  “Politics is almost always in some measure an argument about the future and persons claiming to be knowledgeable in this regard will almost always find an audience among politicians.”  For me, this quote means that you must have the courage to swallow bitter medicine if it is from someone really knowledgeable.  I am engaged in politics only to build a better future for Japan and for the world.

Most Americans would interpret that passage as a warning to be wary of those who claim to know the future as the only ones who believe them are politicians looking for a quick fix.

Still, he ended his speech identifying himself as a statesman, a topic that came up several times in his remarks.

In democracies, statesmen are a critical part of the system. They hear the vox populi, and do what ought to be  done, though it may be bitter, rather than easy to digest. Therefore, the strong wills of the statesmen count most. That is what I tell myself, every day when I wake up.

At the Hudson Institute in October 2010, Abe failed to understand that the founder of the Institute Herman Kahn was a proponent of thermo-nuclear warfare. He opened his luncheon speech by noting his “deep admiration for Dr. Herman Kahn, the founder of the Hudson Institute.” He said

The phrase that he coined, ‘thinking the unthinkable,’ has provided me much food for thought throughout my career as a member of the Diet. My own interpretation of the phrase 'thinking the unthinkable' is as follows: 'to provide hope for the future, based on a clear understanding of the past and an accurate perception of the present.'

The audience, which included Herman Kahn's daughter, wondered how the thought of surviving a thermal-nuclear war had provided Abe with “hope”?

*1996: Japan and the United States signed the “Joint Declaration of the Japan-US security”

Prime Minister of Japan's Schedule Jan 21-27

January 21, 2012 (MON)

AM
09:07 Imperial palace, report of return
10:02 Office
10:30 Mr. Iijima, Cabinet Office Special Advisor
10:46 Mr. Kishida, Minister of Foreign Affairs; and Mr. Hiramatsu Foreign Policy Bureau Director General
11:07 National Council on Social Security System Reform
11:50 Issue an appointment letter for Mr. Hiroto Izumi as Special Adviser for PM

PM
01:05 Mr. Amari, Minister for Economic Revitalization; Mr. Matsumoto, Administrative Vice Minister of Cabinet Office; and Mr. Matsuyama, Cabinet Secretariat Councillor
01:58 Mr. Sekou, Deputy Chief Cabinet Secretary
02:09 Mr. Suga, Chief Cabinet Secretary; Mr. Kato, Mr. Sekou, and Mr. Sugita, Deputy Chief Cabinet Secretaries
04:00 Mr. Kitamura, Director of Cabinet Intelligence
04:37 Mr. Ogasawara, Administrative Vice Minister of Internal Affairs and Communication; Mr. Junichi Tanaka and MR. Ryo Ooishi, Councillors, Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communication; and Mr. Sakurai, Director General, Global ICT Strategy Bureau
04:56 All leave
07:18 Video message shoot for the Davos World Economic Forum annual meeting [very funny]
07:51 Shooting ends
09:43 Mr. Sugita, Deputy Chief Cabinet Secretary
10:13 Mr. Sugita leaves
10:49 Meeting of the Response Headquarters for the Japanese Nationals Abducted in Algeria
11:12 Home in Tomigaya

January 22, 2013 (TUE)

AM
09:16 LDP Headquarters
09:32 LDP Executive meeting
10:01 Office
10:03 Ministerial meeting
10:29 Mr. Nishikawa, Administrative Vice Minister of Justice
11:05 Mr. Adachi, Administrative Vice Minister of Economy, Trade, and Industry; and Mr. Takahara, Director-General, Agency for Natural Resources and Energy
11:41 Mr. Sato, Administrative Vice Minister of Land, Infrastructure, and Transportation

PM
12:12 Mr. Sato leaves
02:08 Mr. Shimomura, Minister of Education; and Mr. Yamanaka, Ministry of Education Councillor
02:34 Mr. Yamaguchi, Director of LDP Accounting Office
02:41 Receives a Report from Mr. Taro Aso, Deputy Prime Minister, Mr. Akira Amari, Minister of State for Economic and Fiscal Policy, and Mr. Masaaki Shirakawa, Governor of the Bank of Japan; Mr. Suga attends
02:50 Make comments for the press
02:57 LDP Headquarters
03:00 LDP Local Secretaries meeting
03:41 Office
03:43 Mr. Kaneko, Administrative Vice Minister of Health, Labour, and Welfare; Mr. Okazaki, Director, Employment Security Bureau, Ministry of Health; and Mr. Muraki, Social Welfare and War Victims' Relief Bureau Director General
04:25 Mr. Amari, Minister for Economic Revitalization
04:47 Mr. Suzuki, Senior Vice Minister of Foreign Affairs; and Mr. Hiramatsu, MoFA Foreign Policy Bureau Director General
05:10 Mr. Suzuki and Mr. Hiramatsu leave
06:13 Council on Economic and Fiscal Policy
06:53 Meeting neds
09:29 TV Asahi, Roppongi, Tokyo
09:54 Appear on a news program
11:03 Home in Tomigaya

January 23, 2013 (WED)

AM
08:24 Office
08:31 Industrial Competitiveness Council
09:40 Meeting ends
09:42 Professor Heizo Takenaka of Keio University
09:53 Mr. Katsuyuki Kawai, Lower House Foreign Affairs Committee Chair
10:06 Mr. Kitamura, Director of Cabinet Intelligence; and Mr. Nishi, Director General, Defense Policy Bureau, MoD; and Mr. Kinomura, Director of Defense Intelligence Headquarters
10:20 Mr. Nishi and Mr. Kinomura leave
10:40 Mr. Kitamura leaves
10:50 Mr. Taniuchi, Cabinet Office Advisor
11:08 Mr. Matsumoto, Administrative Vice Minister of Cabinet Office; Mr. Shimizu and Mr. Matsuyama, Councillor of Cabinet Office

PM
12:01 Mr. Lee Sung-yoon and Hideo Watanabe, Vice Chairs, Japan-Korea Cooperation Committee
12:17 All leave
01:01 Mr. Aso, Minsiter of Finance
01:32 Ministerial Council on Monthly Economic Report and Other Relative Issues
02:03 Mr. Minagawa, Administrative Vice Minister of Agriculture, Forestry, and Fishery
02:43 Mr. Moriguchi, Administrative Vice Minister of Education
03:19 Presentation Ceremony of the Prime Minister's Award to the Winner of the Japan Professional Sports Grand Prize
03:56 Mr. Nemoto, Minister of Reconstruction
04:18 Mr. Yamamoto, Minister of State for Okinawa and Northern Territories Affairs
04:39 Mr. Ishihara, Minister of Environment; Mr. Saito, Parliamentary Secretary of Environment; and Mr. Ikeda, Director, Nuclear Power Regulatory Agency
05:24 Mr. Kawai, Administrative Vice Minister of Foreign Affairs; and Mr. Saiki, Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs
06:11 Mr. Kawamura, LDP Election Affairs Council Chief
06:25 Mr. Kawamura leaves
07:49 Mr. Yonemura, Deputy Chief Cabinet Secretary for Crisis Management
08:45 Mr. Yonemura leaves
09:02 Home in Tomigaya

January 24, 2013 (THU)　

AM
08:31 Office
08:33 Mr. Inada, Minister in charge of Administrative Reform
09:15 Regulatory Reform Council
09:47 Mr. Ryuhei Maeda, new Ambassador for Switzerland and Lichtenstein; and other new Ambassadors
10:02 Education Rebuilding Implementation Council
11:08 Meeting ends
11:35 Interview with Kyodo News

PM
12:06 Mr. Yamamoto, Minister of State for Space Policy
01:00 Mr. Aso, Minister of Finance; Mr. Manago, Administrative Vice Minister of Finance; and Mr. Tanaka,Director General, Tax Bureau, MoF
01:09 Mr. Furusawa, Director General, Financial Bureau, MoF, joins
01:37 All leave
01:38 Mr. Amari, Minister for Economic Revitalization; Mr. Matsumoto, Administrative Vice Minister of Cabinet Office; and Mr. Matsuyama, Cabinet Office Councillor
01:59 Reiyukai, Azabudai, Tokyo,”Inner Trip” meeting
02:19 LDP Headquarters: Photo shoot with the candidates for Tokyo Assembly election: Mr. Ishiba attends
03:08 Office
03:10 Mr. Kitamura, Director of Cabinet Intelligence
03:16 Mr. Hiroshi Inouye, Chair of the private broadcasting company federation
03:47 Ms. Junko Kawaguchi, LDP Okinawa development research board chair; and Mr. Fukushiro Nukaga, former Minister of Defense
03:57 Mr. Aso, Minister of Finance; Mr. Manago, Administrative Vice Minister of Finance; and Mr. Kinoshita,
0431 Courtesy Call from Representatives of the Ship for World Youth (SWY) Program
05:03 Council on Economic and Fiscal Policy
05:54 Extraordinary Ministerial Meeting
06:17 Mr. Amari, Minister of Economic Revitalization
06:42 Mr. Motegi, Minister of Economy, Trade, and Industry
07:44 Residence: Dinner with Mr. Kimura, Isozaki, and Eto, Special Advisors of PM
09:34 Home in Tomigaya

January 25, 2013 (FRI)

AM08:20 Office
08:21 Mr. Nemoto, Minister of Reconstruction
08:46 Mr. Kishida, Minister of Foreign Afairs; Mr. Suzuki, Senior Vice Minister of Foreign Affairs; and Mr. Kawai, Administrative Vice Minister of Foreign Affairs
08:58 The Seventh Meeting of the Response Headquarters for the Japanese Nationals Abducted in Algeria
09:16 National Security Council
09:37 Strategic Headquarters for Space Development
10:02 Ministerial Meeting
10:27 Headquarters on the Abduction Issue
10:44 Headquarters for Japan's Economic Revitalization
11:08 Mr. Shunichi Tanaka, Chair of Nuclear Regulatory Committee; and Mr. Ikeda, Director, Nuclear Regulatory Agency

PM
12:00 Mr. Yuuji Yamamoto, the Lower House Budget Committee Chair
12:16 Lunch with Mr. Suga, Chief Cabinet Secretary
01:31 Mr. Sugita, Deputy Chief Cabinet Secretary
01:41 Mr. Shindo, Minster of Internal Affairs and Communications
02:02 Meeting with newspaper and broadcasting editors
02:29 Meeting with private broadcasting analysts
02:55 Cabinet Press Club members
04:10 Interview with Mainichi Shimbun
04:53 Mr. Yneda and Mr. Katagiri, Old and New National Police Agency Director
05:00 Mr. Nishimura and Mr. Higuchi, New and Old Superintendent General
05:15 Mr. Kitamura, Director of Cabinet Intelligence
05:25 Mr. Onodera, Minister of Defense; Mr. Nishi, Defense Policy Bureau Director General; and Mr. Kimizuka, GSDF Chief of Staff
05:50 Mr. Fujii, Cabinet Office Secretariat Councillor; and Mr. Izumi, Special Advisor for PM
06:30 Teleconference with Prime Minister Merkel of Germany
07:16 Residence: Dinner with Mr. Hamada and Mr. Honda Cabinet Office Secretariat Councillors
08:51 Mr. Ihara, North American Affairs Bureau Director General, MoFA; and Mr. Sakurai, Assistant Deputy Chief Cabinet Secretary
09:57 Home in Tomigaya

January 26, 2013 (SAT)

AM
08:50 Keio University Hospital; medical checkup

PM
02:29 Home in Tomigaya
03:12 NHK International’s Studio in the Japan Amway Headquarters Building; Attend the World Economic Forum (Davos Meeting) TV meeting
03:56 Residence
03:57 Mr. Yamaguchi, President of New Komei Party; Mr. Ishii, Komei’s Policy Research Chief; and Mr. Nishida, Komei’s Parliamentary Affairs Chief
04:21 Mr. Kinouchi, Parliamentary Secretary of Foreign Affairs; Mr. Suga; Mr. Sugita, Deputy Chief Cabinet Secretary; Mr. Yonemura, Deputy Chief Cabinet Secretary for Crisis Management; and Mr. Kitamura, Director of Cabinet Intelligence
04:54 Give comments to the press
05:14 Home

January 27, 2013 (SUN)

AM
Home in Tomigaya

PM
04:39 Ryougoku Sumo Wrestling Arena
04:41 Kitanoumi, Chair of Japan Sumo Wrestling Association
04:53 Watch the sumo matches
05:44 Presentation ceremony for the champion
06:32 Home
08:33 Office
08:35 Mr. Aso, Minister of Finance; and Mr. Manago, Administrative Vice Minister of Finance
09:02 Ruling party meeting for the FY2013 budget
09:18 Mr. Suga
09:21 Mr. Amari, Minister for Economic Revitalization
09:57 Home