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	<< Back "DAWN" Newsletter of The DAWN CENTER Basic Data on Japanese Women The current state of Japanese women will be described objectively. In order to illustrate some of the aspects of this state, data collected from surveys on gender equality and women's issues have been used. 1. Impressions on Gender Equality   Despite the long-standing clamor for improvement in women's status, many men and women feel that men are given an advantage over women in a variety of fields, except for education. More than 60% of people, both men and women, felt that gender equality was achieved in education. According to a survey taken in 1995 [1], as shown in Fig.1, 71.2% of women and 61.6% of men, an average of 67.1%, felt that men were at a more advantageous position in politics than women. So felt 78.7% of women and 74.9% of men, 77% on average, about the socially accepted views, customs, and traditions. People who chose the statement, "As a whole, men are given a social advantage over women" were asked another question, "What is most important in order to accomplish gender equality in every field in society?"[2] Of the five answers to this question, in which "Others" and "Undecided" were not included, "A variety of prejudices, generally accepted fixed ideas, customs, and traditions surrounding women must be changed" was chosen by 35.4%, "Women must push themselves to enhance their abilities through acquiring economic power, knowledge, and skills," by 22.9%; "The laws and existing social systems must be reviewed, and those related to discrimination of women must be changed," by 13%; "Facilities and services which help women to work and participate in social activities should be implemented," by 12.3%, and "The quota system which enforces appointment of women to a certain number of important posts on governments and companies must be implemented," by 9.7%. This survey shows that many men and women are aware of inequality in generally accepted ideas, customs, and traditions. The survey also shows that to promote gender equality, many people think that reformation is a necessity. 2. Work and Occupation   Japanese female labor force participation rate by age group is "M-shaped" when it is made into a graph. Unlike western countries which have an arc shaped line, as shown in Fig.2, the rate in Japan goes down in the later half of twenties and thirties. This is because in Japan, married women usually quit their jobs when they become busy with child-care at around 30. Then they restart working when their children have grown up and do not require as much care. This results in a recovery in the number of women in the labor force making the line go up. In the aforementioned survey, people's beliefs regarding the women's attitude toward working were also surveyed. The following five statements were given to choose from; "Women had better not have a job, Women had better have a job until their marriage, Women had better have a job until they have a child, Women had better quit their job when they have a child and to restart working when their children have grown up, and Women had better continue working even after giving birth to a child. The percentage of people who chose the third statement was 38.7% (39.8% and 37.1% of men and women, respectively), the highest of the five. The corresponding rate obtained by a similar survey performed in 1992 was 42.7%. Although the current rate was lower than that in 1992, this view is still predominant. 6. Marriage   The number of marriages per year per 1000 population remains at about 6; this has remained unchanged over the past 10 years. The average age of first marriage for women was 26.2 years (28.5 years for men) in 1994, 2 years higher than the age (24.2 years) in 1970 [3]. Of women in the latter half of their 20s, 18.1% were unmarried in 1970 [4]. The rate doubled to 40.2% in 1990. In the past, women used to marry to secure their economic future or maintain their husbands' family lines. Above all, the belief that marriage brings happiness for women was predominant in the past. As participation of women in social activities and the number of economically independent women increased, this belief began to change. Fig.3 shows the average results for women 20 years old and over who answered the question, "What do you think of marriage for women?" When the women were stratified by age, only 4.2% of women in their 20s chose the statement, "Marriage means happiness for women," while the percentage was 26.8% with women aged 60 years old and over. Of women in their 20s, 71.4% considered that they needed not marry unless they met a man they would like to marry. The rate for women aged 60 years old and over was 23%. These results suggest that young women consider that marriage does not necessarily guarantee their happiness and is just one choice in life [5]. 1. The Prime Minister's Office, Gekkan Yoron Chosa (Monthly Public Opinion Poll), December 1994, pp.42-56. This is a survey conducted in 5000 persons aged 20 years old and over across the nation. Of the 5,000, 3,459, (1,978 women and 1,485 men) were valid answers. 2. ibid., A total of 2,615, consisting of 1,576 women and 1,039 men, answered this question. 3. Ministry of Health and Welfare, Vital Statistics of Japan 1994, p.389. 4. Mariko Bando ed., Graphic Data Bank on Japanese Women, 1995, p. 2. 5. The Prime Minister's Office, Public Opinion Poll on Women, 1990. Page Top Copyright (C) DawnCenter. All Rights Reserved.