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       It Took Decades, but Japan’s Working Women Are Making Progress

       Employers have taken steps to change a male-dominated workplace culture. But women still struggle to balance their careers with domestic obligations.

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       A class for Sony workers encourages men to take on more child care (and gives them an idea of what pregnancy is like). Just one in nine of Sony’s managers in Japan are women.Credit...Noriko Hayashi for The New York Times

       By Motoko Rich, Hisako Ueno and Kiuko Notoya

       Reporting from Tokyo

       May 7, 2024, 12:01 a.m. ET

       When the future empress of Japan entered the country’s elite diplomatic corps in 1987, a year after a major equal employment law went into effect, she was one of only three female recruits. Known then as Masako Owada, she worked long hours and had a rising career as a trade negotiator. But she lasted just under six years in the job, giving it up to marry Crown Prince — and now Emperor — Naruhito.

       Much has changed for Japan’s Foreign Ministry — and, in some ways, for Japanese women more broadly — in the ensuing three decades.

       Since 2020, women have comprised nearly half of each entering class of diplomats, and many women continue their careers after they marry. These advances, in a country where women were predominantly hired only for clerical positions into the 1980s, show how the simple power of numbers can, however slowly, begin to remake workplace cultures and create a pipeline for leadership.

       For years, Japan has promoted women in the workplace to aid its sputtering economy. Private-sector employers have taken some steps, like encouraging male employees to do more around the house, or setting limits on after-work outings that can complicate child care. But many women still struggle to balance their careers with domestic obligations.

       The Foreign Ministry, led by a woman, Yoko Kamikawa, exceeds both other government agencies and familiar corporate names like Mitsubishi, Panasonic and SoftBank in an important sign of progress: its placement of women in career-track, professional jobs.

       With more women in the ministry’s ranks, said Kotono Hara, a diplomat, “the way of working is drastically changing,” with more flexible hours and the option to work remotely.

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