U.N. Panel Member Urges Japan to Create Gender Equality Bodies

Tokyo, March 8 (Jiji Press)–Hiroko Akizuki, a member of the U.N. Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women, called on Japan to create dedicated parliamentary and government bodies to confront its entrenched gender inequality.

“Japanese people should face reality,” Akizuki said in a recent interview with Jiji Press, referring to Japan’s ranking 118th among 148 economies in the Global Gender Gap Index.

The index is compiled annually by the Switzerland-based nonprofit World Economic Forum. In the most recent 2025 edition, Japan placed last among advanced economies, with political participation showing the starkest imbalance.

Akizuki, also a professor at Japan’s Asia University, said, “The political sector is what obstructs gender equality in Japan.”

The Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women, often called the world’s constitution for women, was adopted by the United Nations in 1979 and has been ratified by 189 parties, including Japan. Signatories are obligated to realize “substantive equality” between women and men in daily life and the workplace by reviewing and revising domestic laws and policies that conflict with the treaty.

[Copyright The Jiji Press, Ltd.]