Japan's Gender Equality Progress Under New Female Prime Minister
In October 2025, Sanae Takaichi became Japan's first female prime minister, marking a significant potential milestone for women in leadership.
Despite this progress, Japan ranks 118th out of 148 countries on the World Economic Forum Gender Gap Index, the lowest among OECD members. The government's initial target of 30% leadership roles for women, set for 2020, has been postponed by a decade.
Women currently hold 11.1% of leadership roles in business, while female labor participation remains high with approximately 77% of women aged 15 to 64 in the workforce in 2025, supported by policies addressing nursery waiting lists and an aging population.
However, the gender wage gap persists, with women earning 70–80% of men's wages according to a 2024 government survey.
In the venture capital sphere, MPower Partners, Japan's first female-led VC firm, supports female founders. The fund is jointly financed by the Tokyo government and private sector. Despite this support, the venture capital culture is noted to be clubby and difficult for women to access capital.
Harassment remains a significant concern, as more than half of female entrepreneurs reported experiencing sexual harassment in the past year. An August 2025 survey by Japan's Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry (MEIT) aims to better understand the issue.
Startup Lady, a support network for female founders, collaborates with Tokyo's government to offer lectures and mentoring programs. Interestingly, their events have attracted more non-Japanese women than Japanese women, highlighting a scarcity of local female role models.
At the education level, Tokyo University has only 20% female undergraduates. UTokyo's Gender Equity initiative #WeChange seeks to increase female faculty from 16% in 2022 to 25% by 2027, currently near 18%, supported by subsidies and outreach efforts to counteract bias at schools.
