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Abstract:
This lecture examines recent developments in gender equality policies in Japan, situated within broader global trends. It explores how international frameworks and discussions on gender equality have influenced Japan’s policy responses, while focusing primarily on domestic dynamics. Key topics include gender pay gap transparency, labor market reform, and gender perspectives in regional revitalization policies amid demographic decline. By analyzing the background and drivers of recent policy shifts, the lecture highlights both the progress made and the remaining challenges. The discussion offers insights into how global norms are translated into national policy and what this process reveals for future policymakers and practitioners.


Speaker: Ms. Asako Osaki (Director, Gender Action Platform (NPO))

Speakers’ Profile:
Asako Osaki worked with the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), focusing on gender equality and women’s empowerment, and managed projects worldwide and promoted gender mainstreaming. Following her involvement in post-disaster recovery after the Great East Japan Earthquake, she began addressing gender issues in Japan. She now works with international organizations, governments, local municipalities, corporations, and NGOs, and serves as Japan’s representative to the UN Commission on the Status of Women, a member of the advisory panel for Japan’s Sixth Basic Plan for Gender Equality, and an advisor on gender equality to Toyooka City.

Moderator: Masako Kurosawa,  Executive Vice President / Professor, GRIPS

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What is GRIPS Forum?
Since its establishment in 1997, the National Graduate Institute for Policy Studies (GRIPS) has promoted research and education on a wide variety of policy issues. The GRIPS Forum invites specialists from national and local governments as well as academic and business communities to promote policy studies and expand policy networks.