Haniwa Natori

 

President

National Federation of Business and Professional Women’s Clubs of Japan (BPW)

Former Director-General of the Cabinet Office Gender Equality Bureau

Public Policy Program (’80)

 

 

 

 

Please tell us about your career path so far. What is your area of specialization and how did you come to work in this area?

I was a student in the second batch of the 2-year ‘domestic program’ at GRIPS’ predecessor, The Graduate School of Policy Science at Saitama University. I received a Master of Political Science with my thesis on the theory of policy decision-making processes.

 

After graduation, I returned to the Juvenile Training School for Girls under the Ministry of Justice, as a legal instructor. After working there for several years, I moved to the Office for Women’s Affairs in the Prime Minister’s Office that was then preparing for the ratification of the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women. From that time onwards, I have been involved in gender equality issues.

 

In 1995, I was appointed Director and Counselor of the Prime Minister’s Office for Gender Equality. In the same year, I participated in the 4th World Conference on Women as a member of the government delegation. Until the Basic Law for a Gender-Equal Society was enacted in 1999, I was involved in various projects and jobs.

 

During his tenure from early 1996 to mid 1998, Prime Minister Ryutaro Hashimoto initiated some major reforms that were continued under the Obuchi administration, and in 1998 Prime Minister Obuchi announced that he will establish the Gender Equality Bureau as a division of the Cabinet Office. It was the only bureau established through Hashimoto’s reforms.

 

In 2003, I was appointed as Director General of the Gender Equality Bureau and in 2005, the 2nd Basic Plan on Gender Equality was adopted by Cabinet decision. This plan was the first thing adopted since the Cabinet Office was inaugurated and we were able to cooperate regarding the contents of the plan with the Economic and Fiscal Advisory Council, the General Science and Technology Council, and the Central Disaster Prevention Council, which were also established under the Cabinet Office.

 

Looking back on your time as Director General of the Cabinet Office Gender Equality Bureau, could you reflect on what has, and has not, been achieved during these years regarding gender equality in Japan?

I served as Director General of the Gender Equality Bureau at the Cabinet office from August 2003 to July 2006. It was a very difficult period as there was a strong backlash against the gender equality policies.

 

First of all, it was forcefully claimed that the declining birthrate in Japan was caused by the advancement of women’s social participation and that these women should just return to their families.

 

Therefore, we conducted an OECD comparative study and its result showed, that women in Japan had least advanced their role in society, but rather only the declining birthrate had been progressing. In the EU and the United States, although we can see a temporary decline in birthrate as women’s social advancement progresses, it has become clear that the birthrate rises when it is possible to achieve both raising children and working by introducing the right supporting measures such as sufficient childcare facilities. On the other hand, since women in Japan are facing the choice between parenting and work, they both stay at a low level. In spite of these harsh circumstances, I think it was quite an achievement that we managed to get the lasting 2nd Basic Plan on Gender Equality adopted by Cabinet decision.

 

Another good memory is that I could achieve my goal of all five male staff taking childcare leave. I cannot forget the bright faces of these young dads after taking childcare leave.

 

You are currently President of the National Federation of Business and Professional Women’s Clubs of Japan (BPW). In your current capacity, what are you hoping to achieve?

Japan BPW Federation is an international NGO under the umbrella of BPW International. BPWI has an advisory status within the United Nations Economic and Social Council.

 

Let me introduce some of the activities we are involved in.

• First, in March every year, we are dispatching young women as interns to the UN Women’s Status Committee. Thousands of people from NGOs all over the world gather in New York every year where hundreds of events are held. Staying there and participating in these events is a wonderful experience for them. Every year, we prepare a report on their experiences.
• Second, we organize an Equal Pay Day campaign to “visualize” and raise awareness of the wage gap between men and women. Equal Pay Day symbolizes how far into the year women must work to earn what men earned in the previous year. Last year women in Japan had to work until April 10 so that’s why April 10th is Japan’s Equal Pay Day.
• Third, we are aspiring to disseminate the Women Empowerment Principles (WEP). These principles are the result of a collaboration between the UN Global Compact and UN Women and emphasize the business case for corporate action to promote gender equality and women’s empowerment.
• Fourth, Japan ranks 111 out of 144 countries in the most recent Global Gender Gap Index (GGGI) that is announced annually by the World Economic Forum. Every year, we organize events that we hope will help us to escape from here and improve Japan’s ranking.

 

The current Abe government seems committed to promote and implement gender equality policies for the advancement of women in society. Are things really changing of is this just rhetorical commitment?　

The Act concerning Promotion of Women’s Career Activities, which stipulates the establishment of an environment in which women can fully display their abilities and be active at work in accordance with their wishes, has been enacted and went into effect in April last year. And in October, the government introduced a point-system to give preferential treatment on public works tenders to companies that support working women or take steps to achieve a healthy work-life balance for their employees. The central government has reserved approximately ¥5 trillion yen to support these initiatives and finally companies are starting to take active working women seriously.

 

It is also clear from the Global Gender Gap Index figures that Japan’s lagging behind when it comes to gender equality is a serious problem, and we evaluate the driving force behind this. The biggest challenge however, is that there are very few female lawmakers, and a quota system that has been introduced in other countries may be needed.

 

What have been some of the biggest challenges you have faced in your work? And what have been the most interesting or rewarding aspects of your career?

The biggest challenge I faced was the backlash against the gender equality policies. I am convinced our country would decline if we do not let women realize their potential, so I have failed to understand where our country would be heading under such backlash.

 

What I felt interesting was the gender equality administration. The Headquarters for the Planning and Promoting of Policies Relating to Women was established in 1975, the year that the United Nations proclaimed as the International Women’s Year. As such it was a new administrative field.

 

Gender equality is an issue that stretches beyond borders and countries around the world have been aiming for a common goal to realize a gender-equal society. It is thus an area where we can pick and choose the best bits.

 

In Japan men are taking the lead in making policy decisions and we are certainly lagging behind the rest of the world. However, if we make a serious effort to appoint more women we will surely be able to catch up.

 

What led you to GRIPS? What was the most important thing you learned while here, and how has your experience at GRIPS prepared you for future endeavours?

At the time, I very eagerly wanted to study and enrolling at GSPS seemed a good choice. I studied for two years and decided to write a thesis on the policy decision process of the “Yodo go” hijacking case. The Yodo go hijacking refers to the Japan Airlines flight that was hijacked by nine members of the Japanese Communist League-Red Army Faction on March 31, 1970, while flying from Tokyo to Fukuoka. After swapping their 129 passengers for a single hostage – the Japanese transport minister – they made their way to Pyongyang, where they wrongly assumed they would be allowed to fly on to Havana. In Pyongyang they surrendered to North Korean authorities, who offered the whole group asylum.

 

It was quite interesting to spend several months researching and writing about this topic. After putting things together in an initial draft, I went to consult with my advisor, and was able to receive vary useful advice and guidance. I really enjoyed further developing my thesis based on this guidance and recommendations.

 

At that time we had no PCs. We wrote our papers by hand making my shoulders hurt. Despite some of the hardships it was a very precious time, during which I was also able to open my mind to many things beyond my studies.

 

What is your fondest memory of your time spent at GSPS?

This has no relation with my studies at all but due to my change of pace and mindset while at GSPS I developed an interest in cooking and I actually got quite good at it.

 

How would you like to maintain involved with the School? Do you have any suggestions on how to further utilize the GRIPS alumni network?

I often receive information about alumni reunions but I would also be happy to receive more information about lectures and seminars.