Japan and the Fourth World Conference on Women
Background of the Conference
The Commission on the Status of Women was established in 1946 in line with the preamble to the United Nations Charter, which reaffirms "faith in fundamental human rights, in the dignity and worth of the human person and in the equal rights of men and women."
The Commission plays a central role in various activities designed to elevate the status of women. It has played a major role in the adoption of a variety of conventions related to women, including the Convention on the Political Rights of Women (1952) and the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women (1979).
Coupled with these efforts, the International Year for Women and the United Nations Decade for Women have been decided to contribute to improving the status of women. In 1972, the United Nations General Assembly proclaimed 1975 as the International Year for Women, to be marked by the World Conference on Women in Mexico City (the First World Conference on Women). The Conference adopted a World Action Plan and proclaimed 1976-1985 as the United Nations Decade for Women.
In 1980, the Mid-Term World Conference of the International Decade for Women (the Second World Conference on Women) was held in Copenhagen. On this occasion, the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women was formally signed by Japan and 56 other nations. In 1985, the end of the United Nations Decade for Women was marked by the World Conference in Nairobi to review and appraise the Achievement of the United Nations Decade for Women (the Third World Conference on Women). The Conference adopted the Nairobi Forward-Looking Strategies for the Advancement of Women Toward the Year 2000, and proposed the Fourth World Conference on Women in 1995 to review the Forward-Looking Strategies.
for further information on the Conference 
Purpose of the Fourth World Conference on Women
The world conferences on women have, since the outset, focused on themes of equality, development and peace. The Fourth World Conference on Women will review the Nairobi Forward-Looking Strategies in line with these themes, and in light of changes in the global situation such as the end of the Cold War, the progress of democratization and the increasing incidence of poverty. The Conference will also formulate a priority action plan for the five years remaining until the year 2000. Twelve major priority fields have been put forward for the Platform for Action to be adopted at the Conference: poverty, education, health, violence, regional conflicts, economics, decision-making, improved status, human rights, the media, the environment and young women.
Three perspectives, inter alia, deserve particular attention: empowerment; partnership based on gender equality; and human rights for women.
Empowerment
The Platform for Action is seen as an agenda for the empowerment of women. Empowerment means to actively encourage the participation of women in all aspects of public and private life. The Platform for Action contains strategies in each of the twelve major fields designed to remove obstacles to empowerment.
Human rights for women
The Platform for Action stresses the need to promote and protect all forms of human rights and basic freedoms, for all women and at all stages of the life cycle.
Partnership based on gender equality
The Platform for Action emphasizes the need for joint efforts based on an equal partnership between men and women to achieve the shared goal of gender equality in society.
Japan's Efforts
Japan's Position Toward the Fourth World Conference on Women
Japan regards the Conference as an opportunity to formulate more domestic policies to actively encourage participation by women in all areas of public and private life, and thereby create a society of gender equality at the global level in the 21st century. In addition, Women in Development (WID) and similar initiatives will make an important contribution to the status of women in the overall international community.
With rising interest in human rights throughout Asia, Japan thinks that this is a very important conference as the first international women's conference held in Asia. Japan is ready to make significant contribution to improving the status of women in the Asian region.
The NGO forum held in parallel with government discussions has always constituted a very important part of the Conference. The Fourth World Conference on Women will be attended by a record of some 36,000 representatives from 2,000 NGOs from around the world. To ensure the success of the Conference, it is most important to develop closer ties with NGOs, particularly by giving every assistance to the NGO forum.
Work Underway within Japan
The Japanese Government has been working hard to implement the World Action Plan and Nairobi Forward-Looking Strategies adopted by the World Conferences on Women. The Headquarters for the Planning and Promotion of Policies Relating to Women was established during 1975 (International Women's Year) under the Prime Minister. This was followed by the National Plan of Action (in 1977) and the New National Plan of Action Toward the Year 2000 (in 1987).
In 1994, the Headquarters for the Planning and Promotion of Policies Relating to Women was renamed the Headquarters for the Promotion of Gender Equality, and the Office for Gender Equality was set up within the Prime Minister's Office to coordinate domestic strategies. The National Committee for the Fourth World Conference on Women, composed of 33 distinguished representatives from the private sector and headed by the Prime Minister, was established in 1993 as a joint public- and private-sector body to coordinate preparations for the Conference.
Back to Index