To tackle the nation's increasingly aged population and chronically low birthrate, Japan must urgently realize an environment in which parental guardians can raise children and nurse their loved ones without giving up their jobs. The government has set a target of promoting the active engagement of women in society, but it is still in the process of achieving that goal. The Yomiuri Shimbun recently spoke with two experts on the current state of affairs in Japan and its major challenges regarding work-life balance.
The following are excerpts of the interviews.
(From The Yomiuri Shimbun, March 20, 2018)
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Take up managerial posts
Nobuko Nagase / Professor at Ochanomizu University
There is one thing that worries me: It is not unusual in Japan for women who graduate from excellent universities to end up in ordinary positions with mainly auxiliary duties, rather than promising career positions on the track to managerial posts.
This is despite the fact that efforts are being made in both the public and private sectors to increase the number of female managers, under the initiative of the central government.
In the traditional Japanese employment system, men were supposed to work long hours and wives were responsible for housework and childcare, while possibly working part-time. This model remains deeply ingrained.
Given the nation's chronic population decline, Japan will hit a wall if it doesn't fully utilize the talents of women and elderly people.
It is essential to thoroughly build a new framework that helps women raise children while remaining in the workforce. A simple solution would be the sharing of housework and childcare by men and women with families.
Meanwhile, it is necessary to change the mind-sets not only of companies and society, but also of women, themselves. Children grow up watching their mothers. If they are raised by parental guardians who follow traditional roles, they will grow up thinking that is the way things are supposed to be.
When I first started teaching at university while raising my children, I thought I didn't have enough time compared to other researchers. I didn't know any senior colleagues who were in the same circumstance as I was, so I had to feel my way through it, but somehow I managed.
Women need to take positions of responsibility at companies, positions that give them the authority to change hiring practices.
If companies train their male and female employees differently, the gender ratio of staff in managerial positions will also differ down the road.
It is vital for companies to steadily maintain efforts to help women gain confidence by telling them how worthwhile it is to work in management positions.
-- Nobuko Nagase
Born in 1959. Nagase is currently an adviser to the president of Ochanomizu University. Nagase's main research areas are women's employment and the link between childbirth and social policy.
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Reducing working hours key
Yoshie Komuro / President of Work-Life Balance Co.
The environment for working women in Japan has significantly changed in the past 10 years. When I started my business 12 years ago, the term "work-life balance" was not yet familiar to most people.
The government and society took notice of the issue too late. I can't help but feel that Japan only reluctantly got to its feet once it became dangerously short on labor.
Nor has there been much progress in rectifying long working hours. To female employees in their first and second years at a Japanese company, there are innumerable things that appear strange about the organization and culture at some companies.
But as time goes by, they get swallowed up in their busy schedules and the logic of the organization, and eventually stop questioning their predicament. I hope they will appeal to executives of their firms to fix working hours before this happens.
This is absolutely not a pipe dream, because company executives are acutely aware that we are now in an era in which women's active engagement in society is being promoted.
Nonetheless, executives are eager to know what these women want, as they have almost no contact with young female employees.
A company should be an organization in which both men and women can use their free time after leaving work at the scheduled time, and on their days off, to pursue their personal goals. This will promote women's active participation and advancement in society.
Multiple companies have succeeded in almost doubling the birthrate of their employees by setting goals for a reduction of working hours, and their employees making efforts to achieve those targets.
In my own case, I was able to think of having a second baby only after my husband, who used to come home late, changed his mind-set and started contributing to housework and childcare.
Reducing men's working hours and increasing the time they spend with their families is also one of the most effective measures to tackle the aging population.
(These interviews were conducted by Yomiuri Shimbun Staff Writer Teruo Miyazawa.)
-- Yoshie Komuro
Born in 1975. After working at major cosmetic maker Shiseido Co., Komuro launched the consulting company Work-Life Balance Co. in 2006, providing consultations about reducing overtime and improving work performance.
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