In October, Japan got its first female prime minister, Sanae Takaichi. Her rise was hailed as a groundbreaking moment for Japanese women, but some fear that her conservative policies will not change the country's gender inequality.
There is one thing that both her supporters and critics agree on: Japan needs more women in leadership positions in both business and government.
The country has remarkably low gender equality compared to its high level of economic development, The New York Times wrote in an analytical article. This year it ranked 118th out of 148 countries in the World Economic Forum's Gender Gap Index. That makes it the worst performer among the 38 members of the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) group of free-market democracies.
The Japanese government had set a goal of 30% of leadership positions in all sectors of society being held by women by 2020, but at the end of that year the deadline was quietly postponed by a decade. The current rate of women in leadership positions in business is 11.1%.
Change is coming slowly
“Japan has actually done a really good job of increasing women's participation in the labor market,” says Yumiko Murakami, co-founder of MPower Partners, Japan's first female-led venture capital (VC) firm. Venture capital firms invest in startups.
The percentage of working women aged 15-64 has been steadily increasing over the past 15 years, surpassing the OECD average in the early 2010s and exceeding 77% this year.
Among the major problems in Japan is the fact that women earn on average only 70% to 80% of the salaries of their male counterparts, according to a 2024 government study. This is something Murakami and her co-founders are aiming to change.
The gender imbalance between female entrepreneurs and male investors has led to cases of sexual harassment. More than half of female entrepreneurs said they had experienced sexual harassment in the past year, according to a 2024 survey.
The issue has been receiving increasing media attention in Japan, with several victims reporting sexual assault or being pressured to exchange sexual favors for investment. The Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry announced a government study in August 2025 to assess the extent of the problem.
Startup Lady is a support organization focused on female founders — and safety is a key issue. Moeko Suzuki co-founded the organization with her business partners a decade ago when they realized there was a gap in support for aspiring or early-stage female entrepreneurs of all nationalities in Japan.
“We started thinking that we needed to create a safe space for women, as well as a place where female entrepreneurs could come together, talk about business, relax, and gain perspective,“ says Suzuki. “We wanted to create a place that was very, very safe for female entrepreneurs in Japan, even if they weren’t Japanese.“
So far, however, the events have attracted more non-Japanese female entrepreneurs than Japanese. Suzuki says that Japan still lacks female role models to inspire younger generations.
Gender stereotypes persist in education. The country has one of the lowest rates of female students in science (science, technology, engineering and mathematics) programs compared to other OECD countries. At the University of Tokyo, considered one of Japan’s most prestigious educational institutions, only 20% of students are women, and even fewer are researchers.
To address this, the university launched an initiative called UTokyo Gender Equality #WeChange in 2022. The goal is to increase the proportion of female faculty from 16% in 2022 to 25% by the end of the 2027 academic year. To achieve this, the university provides grants to departments that hire female faculty, in some cases subsidizing the costs of new hires for up to three or five years. By now, the ratio has increased to almost 18%.
Undoubtedly, however, the most visible role model for women in Japan is newly elected Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi, who leads the Liberal Democratic Party of Japan (LDP). Some are applauding her rise as breaking the glass ceiling in a country that has abysmally low levels of female political empowerment compared to its OECD peers.
But others have complained about her conservative views, such as her opposition to proposed legislation that would allow women to keep separate surnames after marriage.
“I understand that some people are encouraged by the idea that a woman could become prime minister, but I don't think it will lead to gender equality policies,” says youth activist Momoko Nojo.
But in a country that is trying to open the door to more female leaders in all sectors, it is impossible to ignore the significance of Sanae Takaichi's election. Whether some see her as a role model or not, it has set a precedent that women in Japan can become leaders at the very top.