Even in the modern era, gender inequality remains an issue in Japan. In the 2019 Gender Inequality Index report, it was ranked the 17th least unequal out of the participating 162 countries, ahead of Germany, the UK and the US, performing especially well on the reproductive health and higher education attainment indices. Despite this, gender inequality still exists in Japan due to the persistence of gender norms in Japanese society rooted in traditional religious values and certain Meiji-era government reforms. Gender inequality manifests in various aspects such as family, political representation, education, and employment, occurring largely due to gender roles. Inequality also lies within divorce of heterosexual couples and the marriage of same sex couples due to both a lack of protective divorce laws and the presence of restrictive marriage laws. In consequence to these traditional gender roles, self-rated health surveys show variances in reported poor health, population decline, reinforced gendered education and social expectations, and inequalities in the LGBTQ+ community.
Historical, traditional, and modern views
Meiji government restructure of the Japanese state Between 1878 and 1883, when the Meiji government restructured the state, Japanese women's political and legal rights were significantly reduced. This restructure paved the way for solidifying Japan's legal structure, but introduced new laws and terms regarding kōmin, "citizens or subjects," and kōken/ri, "public rights." Following additional laws regarding male-only succession, women were excluded from these classifications. As such, they were barred from voting and participation in politics. These restructures were influenced by France and other European countries, which were visited by hōsei kanryō, "young legislative bureaucrats," elite young men who would meld European law and theory with traditional Tokugawa samurai teachings, which were paternalistic. These laws would remain in place until WWII, with a few exceptions.
Family values Japan's family dynamics have historically been defined by a two-person, female housewife or caregiver role and a male income-earner role, a historically common division of labor between the sexes. After Japan's involvement in World War II ended, the resulting Japanese Constitution included Article 24, "the Gender Equality Clause," which was introduced to steer the country towards gender equality. However, deeply embedded family and gender norms led to resistance among citizens, and the culture remained largely the same as of 2009.
Following World War II, the "professional housewife" or sengyō shufu, arose. The idea of professionalism regarding this type of domestic labor is similar to any other profession, as it requires significant knowledge, skill, and at least partial autonomy. The primary role for a professional housewife is childrearing, which remains a highly stigmatized topic for women and married couples, wherein only 2% of children are born out of wedlock, and women who do not marry or have children after marriage are met with social "hostility." In a 2013 poll, over 50% of twenty-year-old participants confirmed the traditional gendered labor division of men working outside the home and women within, which is even further enforced through tax policies regarding primary and secondary income sources.
It was not until the mid-1970s that Japanese women began to play a larger role in the paid economy. Japanese men, however, generally did not step in to play a larger role in the house. Studies have shown that there is a negative correlation between the number of hours worked by fathers in their jobs and the amount of housework (including childcare) that the father provides. After paid work, the father would come home, spending most of his time eating or in non-social interactions such as watching TV with his family. This led to the term "Japan Inc.," synonymous with males committing their life to their job while in a long-term relationship.
Another term that became popular in Japan was the "relationship-less society", describing how men's long work hours left little or no time for them to bond with their families. Japanese society came to be one of isolation within the household, since there was only enough time after work to care for oneself, excluding the rest of the family. This held especially true for families who wished to have a second child. Due to corporations and work regulation laws, men of all ages in large firms are forced to prioritize work over the rest of their life. The limited amount of help from their male spouses leaves women with the majority of household chores.
Religion The "Feminism, Religion, and Peace Group" (フェミニズム・宗教・平和の会) was founded in 1986 and led by the late Okuda Akiko 奥田暁子 and Okano Haruko 岡野治子. It began with the publication of the journal Womanspirit. This group was patroned by women of Christian and Buddhist religions, who gathered to discuss traditional androcentric Buddhist teachings in connection with their own experiences in an effort to realign tradition and contemporary feminist theology, and "overcome traditional gender discrimination in Judeo-Christian religions."
Gender roles in Japan are deeply entwined with the East Asian country's religious and cultural history. Japan's most popular philosophy, Confucianism, enforces gendered rules relating to fashion and public behavior. For instance, from a young age, Japanese men are taught the importance of professional success, higher education, honoring the family name, and providing for the family. In the Confucian tradition, women only receive education through middle school, and are taught to focus on being respectful, learning to cook, and taking care of children. Under this framework, women are not supposed to have a paying job.
Divorce In Japan, the process of getting a divorce is considered a personal family issue in which the Japanese government does not get extremely involved in except to provide legal papers that need to be consensually signed by both partners in the marriage. Partners have the option to get divorced through the family court system or through simple registration at their ward. Divorce in the late 70's in Japan was usually due to adultery, financial problems, and incompatibility, however divorces now are most often due to incompatibility with personalities followed by abuse and violence by the husband. In cases that involve domestic violence or abuse, most often women are left at a disadvantage, being left with limited economic opportunities post-divorce due to discrimination and unequal distributions of assets.
Abortion and contraception
Abortion is legal in Japan. However, women need their partner's permission to have an abortion. Both surgery and abortion pills are done in a hospital. Only 3% of women use contraceptives, and condoms are the mainstream method of birth control. In 2023, the morning-after pill will be available on a trial basis at some pharmacies without a prescription. Implants and injectables are not allowed in Japan. In October 2024, the United Nations Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women called on the Japanese government to amend the law to end the provision requiring women to obtain their husband's consent for induced abortions.
LGBTQ+ marriage rights and violence in law
Gender norms in Japan adversely affect LGBTQ+ people. Due to the perceived social importance of marriage, single men are often passed for promotions as they are seen lacking leadership and managerial skills, while women in their 30s also become stagnant, as that is the age where women typically marry and start a family. This inhibits the career advancement of LGBTQ+ individuals.
These inequalities affect individuals who do not identify with heterosexual marriage norms through ways including social and legal discrimination in the work place, education, healthcare, and housing, and legal discrimination stemming from the Japanese family registry.
Social Stratification Mobility Survey The Social Stratification and Mobility (SSM) survey was first conducted in 1955 and has been conducted every decade since. The first survey aimed to study Japan's economic foundation. A large-scale survey like the SSM has its problems: Many local issues go unnoticed and inequality stays hidden within households until a more focused survey can unveil more. However, even this survey was a major step toward national awareness around issues of gender equality.
In the fourth survey, completed in 1985, there was a significant recorded movement towards equality. Up until it, women were only counted as housewives and family business labor (help with family-owned businesses, like farm work) did not count toward measures of economic mobility. It is here that we finally start to see a shift toward a more equal culture.
The Equal Employment Opportunity Law
With national surveys finally including women, the Japanese government introduced the Equal Employment Opportunity Law (EEOL). Before its enactment, women could generally only get labor-intensive jobs in poor working conditions, mostly on farms or in unsafe factories. Most other women found jobs as secretaries or assistants. Post-EEOL Japan began to see blue collar jobs fill up with machines, allowing women to have better opportunities elsewhere in society.
The Equal Employment Opportunity Law aimed to create equality within the workforce for people of all genders. However, women were still being discriminated against in every field. Despite constant discrimination, modern Japan continues to push forward with support from the EEOL (and other equality laws like the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women (CEDAW)) toward safer and better-paying jobs for women.
Women in politics Women began to make meaningful inroads in Japanese politics beginning in the 1980s. However, according to the Inter-parliamentary Union (5, 183), female representation within Japanese politics fell from 79th out of 177 countries in 1997 to 165th out of 193 countries in 2019. This comes in spite of a call from the United Nations to increase female representation in politics and a successful election of the Democratic Party of Japan (DPJ) where more women were elected to office. However, the DPJ made no reforms for further election or the prioritization of women in office, and due to poor performance, the party dissolved in 2017. In 2014, Prime Minister Shinzo Abe placed five women into political roles within his cabinet. Of these, only three kept their positions due to scandals related to workplace sexism. Recent years have seen the rise of Mama Giin (mommy politicians), particularly at the local assembly level. The percentage of female members announced in 2024 is 10.4% in the House of Representatives and 26.8% in the House of Councilors.
In 2025, Sanae Takaichi was elected as the first female President of the Liberal Democratic Party, making her the country's first female prime minister. However, many saw Takaichi likely becoming the country's first female prime minister as a "conundrum" for gender equality given Japan's high gender inequality and Takaichi's own policies. The Associated Press wrote that Takaichi "is an ultra-conservative star of a male-dominated party that critics call an obstacle to women’s advancement" in a "country that ranks poorly internationally for gender equality". Takaichi's political rise in the LDP was called a "paradox" while some believed that her becoming prime minister would not have an impact on gender inequality given her conservative views.
Gender Inequality Index