“Womenomics” has become a well-known term in Japan since Prime Minister Shinzo Abe made it one the main pillars of his government growth strategy in 2013. The point of Womenomics is to pull more women into the work force, primarily to boost the economy and make up for the decline in the nation’s working-age population, which is projected to shrink by about a third by 2060. Abe’s administration has proposed policies and interventions that aim to encourage more women to join the workforce, such as launching campaigns to eliminate long waiting lists for child-care programs and pressuring large companies to have at least one female executive.
Under Abe, female participation in the workforce has indeed increased , but gender equity continues to be out of reach in the workplace, as women’s roles tend to be low in the office hierarchy and non-regular. Due to the gender gap among professional and technical workers in Japan, the latest global gender gap index has Japan ranked 111th out of 144 countries, a fall of ten places since 2015 and leaving Japan just behind Ethiopia and Nepal.
With such an embarrassing ranking, Japanese policymakers continue to think through the different types of policies that could draw more women into the workforce, especially in higher positions. Yet without considering the social-cultural factors that influence how women perceive and are affected by work in Japan, the success of Womenomics is doubtful.
In late 2015, Matsuri Takahashi, 24, who worked at Japan’s top advertisement agency, Dentsu Inc., killed herself because of the stress from extreme and persistent overtime of more than 100 hours a month. Unfortunately, this news was not surprising for many Japanese citizens. Dentsu is known for demanding long hours from its employees, and has a history of former employees killing themselves due to stress from overwork. Austere company principles, such as “don’t relinquish your work, even if you are killed,” do not help the situation.
Karoshi is often associated with men, as more men have died from overwork than women. However, according to Dr. Junko Kitanaka , a medical anthropologist from Keio University who has researched overwork suicide in Japan extensively, such views are a self-fulfilling prophecy. “The conceptualization of suicide seems more reserved for male workers and thus minimizes the importance and possible underreporting of depression in women or unemployed individuals,” Kitanaka writes. “Although Japanese male workers may be at most risk, they have also been the primary focus of suicide concern in Japan at the expense of other population groups.” While women in Japan might not be committing suicide from work as rampantly as men, they face other stresses and mental health problems, such as major depression and anxiety, due to work, which affect their ability to thrive and contribute to Japan’s economy.
Work life for many Japanese women is riddled with challenges. In 2015, 58 percent of women in Japan felt strong stress from work. Of course, some of these challenges may be similar to that of other countries, and the hurdles that working women face can depend heavily on variables such as age, marital status, socioeconomic status, the location, type, position and nature of their jobs, and the availability of social support. However, there has been research to show that gender inequality in the labor market is particularly acute in Japan , and may contribute to gender specific patterns in the prevalence of poor psychological health.
What could be the reason for the poor psychological health among some Japanese working women? One piece is the general work culture in Japan of long hours, significant overtime, compulsory socializing with superiors, and a stifling corporate hierarchy.
