I noticed that Japan had been officially ranked 97th in gender equality by the World Economic Forum, comparing to the United States (#19), the United Kingdom (#15), Germany (#13), and the Nordic countries who all topped the list. As usual, it’s difficult to say how useful this ranking might be in judging the real situation of women here. While it’s true that Japan is in some ways a paradise where men can go to a maid cafe and have a beautiful woman feed him like a child after blowing on his food for him, this is not a good example of what normal society is really like. I’d say that the educational and employment opportunities for women in Japan are among the best in the world, and women enjoy real equality in almost every area. One reality that’s hard for “enlightened” Westerners to accept is that much of the time, Japan is the way it is because both men and women prefer it this way. When a woman reaches a certain age, it’s nearly a foregone conclusion that she will quit her job to get married, no matter how intelligent or highly trained she might be. (As the owner of a company in Japan, I’ve lost many a talented female employee to the evil spectre of kekkon intai or “retirement due to marriage”). The reason there are fewer career-minded females than in other countries is largely because most prefer not to make the sacrifices a career would entail, and are happy to let their husbands be the daikoku-bashira or the “big, black pillar” of the household. Also note that in 90% or more of households, it’s the woman who controls the finances of the home. Um, having men do most of the work while women control the money is unfair how??
Former model “Renho” is the most powerful woman in Japan today.
