Chapter 3
Japan's Foreign Policy to Promote National and Global Interests
8 Gender Equality and Women's Empowerment
The further deterioration of the global economy due to the spread of COVID-19 and Russia's aggression against Ukraine has not only exacerbated the poverty of women, but also brought about an increase in gender-based violence such as domestic violence (DV), human trafficking, and child marriages. In this conflict situation, conflict-related sexual violence (CRSV) has seriously affected particularly women and girls and further highlighted existing gender inequalities. For this reason, it is necessary to prioritize the realization of gender equality and the promotion of women's empowerment as one of the most important issues for peace and prosperity in Japan and the world, and it is vital to focus on various policies and measures for women and girls in order to realize a more peaceful and prosperous society. In this sense, gender mainstreaming, which is to incorporate the gender perspective into all policies is becoming increasingly important in the international community. It is also important for Japan, as a member of the international community, to contribute actively to international efforts to prevent sexual violence in conflict, protect the human rights of women and promote the provision of relief and assistance to women. Since in the Fifth Basic Plan for Gender Equality, it is clearly stated that Japan will continue to contribute to the realization of gender equality and the promotion of women's empowerment by hosting international conferences on women, vigorously supporting developing countries through development assistance as well as international cooperation with other countries and international organizations.
(1) G7
The G7 Leaders' Communique from the G7 Summit in Elmau held in June referred to mainstreaming gender equality into all policy areas in the spirit of feminist development, foreign and trade policies. With an aim to continuously monitor G7 commitments, it endorsed the G7 Dashboard on Gender Gaps, which selects 12 indicators from the areas of education, employment and social security, entrepreneurship, leadership, health and well-being, and funds for development cooperation, and maps the progress of gender equality in the G7 countries and EU. It also committed to making every effort to increase the share of the G7's bilateral allocable ODA for gender-related initiatives. Furthermore, it referred to the recognition, reduction, and redistribution of unpaid care work, and incorporated support of 79 million US dollars for the Childcare Incentive Fund. The G7 Gender Equality Ministers Meeting was held in October for the first time in three years, and was attended by OGURA Masanobu, Minister in charge of Women's Empowerment and Minister of State for Gender Equality.
(2) G20
In August, the second G20 Ministerial Conference on Women's Empowerment was convened in Bali under the Indonesian G20 Presidency. Minister in charge of Women's Empowerment and Minister of State for Gender Equality Ogura attended an online session on “Closing the Digital Gender Gap.” In the G20 Bali Leaders' Declaration issued by the G20 Bali Summit in November, the leaders reaffirmed their commitment to putting gender equality and women's empowerment at the core of their efforts for an inclusive recovery and sustainable development as women and girls continue to be disproportionately affected by the COVID-19 pandemic and other crises.
(3) World Assembly for Women (WAW!)
Since 2014, Japan has been organizing WAW! as a forum for top leaders from Japan and abroad who are active on the frontlines of the political, economic and social arenas, to engage in discussions on various issues surrounding women, and to disseminate information about Japan's initiatives to promote women's empowerment within and outside Japan. The sixth edition of the assembly, WAW!2022 was held for the first time in three years since March 2019 in hybrid format (combination of in-person and online events). At WAW!2022, under the main theme “WAW! for Mainstreaming Gender into a New Form of Capitalism,” participants including youth and women in rural areas exchanged views toward the realization of gender equality and the creation of a peaceful and prosperous society (see the Special Feature on page 261).
President Guðni Jóhannesson of Iceland (left) and UN Women Executive Director Sima Bahous (right) delivering speeches at WAW!2022 (December 3, Tokyo)
Discussions at WAW!2022 (December 3, Tokyo)
(4) International Cooperation for the Empowerment of Women in Developing Countries
Through JICA and international organizations, Japan is engaged in educational support and human resource development, as well as efforts toward the economic empowerment of women and the elimination of gender-based violence in developing countries.
A Educational Support and Human Resource Development
At the Global Education Summit held in July 2021, Foreign Minister Motegi announced in his video message that Japan will provide education support of more than 1.5 billion US dollars over a five-year period, and support the provision of opportunities for quality education and human resource development to at least 7.5 million girls in developing countries. At the 77th UN General Assembly convened in September 2022, Prime Minister Kishida declared that Japan will focus on human resource development and capacity building while putting the emphasis on “investment in people.” He also assumed the position of “Education Champion”52 and stated that he will promote cooperation through human resource development based on the outcome of the UN Transforming Education Summit.
52 In September, Prime Minister Kishida, at the request of UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres, assumed the position of the first “Education Champion,” fulfilling the role as a leader who promotes education in the international community.
B Supporting Women Through JICA
To promote the economic empowerment of women, Japan has provided support to improve the livelihoods of low-income female home-based workers in Pakistan, and promoted the provision of financial services that meet the needs of women in Viet Nam. To promote peace and security for women, it also provides support to strengthen coordination as well as the capacity of organizations involved in addressing trafficking in persons in the Mekong region. Furthermore, in South Sudan and Pakistan, Japan has provided cooperation aimed at protecting the survivors of gender-based violence and supporting them to gain independence. Japan also conducted training with participants from 12 countries, on the theme of eradicating sexual and gender-based violence.
C Dealing with Sexual Violence in Conflict
Sexual violence as tactics of war is a problem that cannot be overlooked. It is vital to put an end to impunity and to support victims. Japan has been actively working in this field to eliminate human rights violations against women in the 21st century. Japan prioritizes cooperation with international organizations such as the Office of the Special Representative of the Secretary-General on Sexual Violence in Conflict (OSRSG-SVC), and participation in discussions at the international fora.
In 2022, Japan provided financial support of approximately 0.5 million US dollars to the OSRSG-SVC, providing legal assistance and support for COVID-19 countermeasures to victims of gender-based violence, including conflict-related sexual violence, in the Democratic Republic of the Congo. In 2022, Japan contributed an additional 2 million Euros to the Global Survivors Fund (GSF), founded by 2018 Nobel Peace Prize laureates Dr. Denis Mukwege and Ms. Nadia Murad and this brings Japan's total contributions to 6 million Euros by 2022. As a member of the board, Japan is also actively involved in the management of this Fund. At WAW!2022 held in December, Dr. Mukwege delivered a speech online. Furthermore, Japan continues to make voluntary contributions to the Trust Fund for Victims of the International Criminal Court (ICC), earmarking contributions for victims of sexual violence and putting efforts into protecting victims of such violence. In addition, Japan also provides support through UN Women.
(4) Initiatives in the UN
A Cooperation with UN Women
Japan strengthened its cooperation with UN Women and increased its contribution from approximately 2 million US dollars (2013) to 13.8 million US dollars (2022). In particular, through UN Women, Japan works on awareness-raising activities among women and girls in developing countries on COVID-19 prevention, economic empowerment of women such as livelihood and entrepreneurship support, and support for female victims of gender-based violence during the COVID-19 pandemic. Japan's support also includes support of women's economic empowerment through providing daily necessities to women and girls who have been affected by conflict and natural disasters, and job creation and vocational training. In September, Prime Minister Kishida took up his role as the HeForShe Champion (male leaders from various sectors selected under the UN Women's HeForShe Campaign, with the aim of raising awareness and involvement among men toward gender equality).
B Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women (CEDAW)
Since 1987, Japan has continuously secured a member seat in the CEDAW, which comprises 23 experts of independent capacity. In March, a webinar entitled “Do you know about the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women?” was organized. Moderated by CEDAW member AKIZUKI Hiroko, serving CEDAW members from four countries delivered lectures and engaged in discussions on the contents of the Convention as well as on the significance of complying with the Convention.
C United Nations Commission on the Status of Women (CSW)
The CSW held its 66th session (CSW66) in March in a hybrid format, both in person and online, due to the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic. The session hosted discussions on the priority theme of “Achieving gender equality and the empowerment of all women and girls in the context of climate change, environmental and disaster risk reduction policies and programmes.” NODA Seiko, Minister in charge of Women's Empowerment and Minister of State for Gender Equality delivered statements (via recording) at the General discussions and the ministerial roundtables.
D Women, Peace and Security (WPS)
Japan continues to contribute to implementation of the WPS agenda in the Middle East, Africa and Asia through its financial contributions to international organizations, primarily UN Women and SRSG-SVC Office, in line with the second National Action Plan on Women, Peace and Security (action plan toward the implementation of the UN Security Council resolution 1325 and related resolutions on women, peace, and security). In addition, Japan conducts monitoring of the implementation status and compiles evaluation reports. WPS was one of the sessions at WAW!2022 held in December in Tokyo. Under the session theme “Women's Participation in Peace and Security,” preventing sexual violence in conflict, women's participation in PKO, and women's participation in peace negotiations and other aspects of peacebuilding were discussed.
Prime Minister Kishida giving the opening remarks (December 3, Tokyo)
The World Assembly for Women: WAW! 2022, organized by the Government of Japan, was held on December 3 for the first time in about three years. WAW! 2022 was held as a hybrid conference with in-person and online participants as the new approach linking up Tokyo and 22 satellite venues. 119 speakers from 26 countries participated in WAW! 2022 across borders, regions, and generations.
The impact of the COVID-19 pandemic and recent global situations have raised a renewed awareness of the importance of gender equality in the international community. Based on the present situations, WAW! 2022 with the main theme “WAW! For Mainstreaming Gender into a New Form of Capitalism,” had 10 separate sessions, in order to engage in wide-ranging and comprehensive discussions including the gender wage gap, women's participation in peace and security, women and disaster risk reduction, and two special sessions focusing on rural women and youth.
In his opening remarks, Prime Minister Kishida emphasized the importance of “gender mainstreaming” in promoting a “New Form of Capitalism,” and spoke about his expectations that discussions in WAW! would serve as momentum to realize a society where everyone can feel fulfilled in life. Next, keynote speeches were presented by Dr. Guðni Thorlacius Johannesson, President of Iceland, and Ms. Sima Bahous, Executive Director of UN Women. President Johannesson spoke about efforts for gender equality in Iceland, which ranks first in the Global Gender Gap Index(Note), as well as the importance of enhancing awareness and engagement of men in the gender equality. Executive Director Bahous covered the issues in gender fields in the world and referred to concrete measures to realize gender equality.
Speakers at the High-Level Roundtable (December 3, Tokyo)
The High-Level Roundtable welcomed the following speakers: President of Moldova Maia Sandu, Minister for Foreign Affairs of Mongolia Batmunkh Battsetseg, Minister for Social and Family Development of Singapore Masagos Zulkifli, Minister in charge of Women's Empowerment OGURA Masanobu, Special Advisor to the Prime Minister of Japan on Women's Empowerment MORI Masako, and State Minister for Foreign Affairs YAMADA Kenji. They contributed knowledge from their respective countries on initiatives to promote “gender mainstreaming,” and many of the speakers pointed out that realizing gender equality benefits not only women, but society as a whole.
Session 9: Women's Participation in Peace and Security
Nobel Peace Prize laureate, Dr. Denis Mukwege, participating online (December 3, Tokyo)
The 10 separate sessions and two special sessions brought together experts, entrepreneurs, and youths who will be leaders of the next-generation, to contribute their views from a wide range of perspectives. Youths from each separate session were assigned as rapporteurs to present recommendations on their respective discussions at the Closing Session. For example, the session about women's participation in decision-making processes proposed incorporating continuous and meaningful gender education into the curriculum from primary education, while the session about women and disaster risk reduction recommended enhancing the resilience of women and girls in times of peace as part of disaster risk reduction measures. In addition, the session on women's participation in peace and security, which was joined online by Dr. Denis Mukwege, 2018 Nobel Peace Prize laureate, emphasized the need to promote gender mainstreaming in peace and security policies and diplomatic policies. Furthermore, the special sessions “Listening to the Voice of Youth: Proposal for the Future” proposed creating a system to facilitate political involvement and engagement among youth.
(Note) Global Gender Gap Index: An index measuring gender gap in each country, which is released each year by the World Economic Forum (WEF). This index is drawn up based on data from four areas: Economic Participation and Opportunity, Education Attainment, Health and Survival, and Political Empowerment, with a score of “0” indicating complete inequality and a score of “1” indicating complete equality.
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