Ja p a n A s s o c i a t i o n f o r Fe m a l e E x e c u t i v e sNEWS L e tte r

Vol.

08

2016.04.01

h t t p: // w w w.jaf e.jp /The 5 th JAFE Seminar
The fif th JAFE Executive Seminar was held on Februar y19, 2016 with Mr. Haruhiko Kuroda, Governor of the Bankof Japan, as our guest speaker. He has recently decided tointroduce the negative interest rate policy. Af ter our JAFE
annual activity report of 2015, Mr. Kuroda spoke on the themeof “ Womenʼs success and the future of Japanese economy ”.

Excerpt from the Governor of the Bank of Japan Haruhiko Kurodaʼs address at the Executive Seminar
The long-term forecast for theJapanese economy and the importanceof the women ʼ s workforce participation
After the economic bubble popped, thegrowth potential of the Japanese economy
showed a significant drop. This comespartly from the population decrease dueto the aging society. To counteract thissituation, it is vital for motivated women
to be able to continue working after theirmarriage and maternity. The women ʼs
employment rate is increasing. However,I think it is imperative to provide womenwith an environment where the wholesociety can support them to continue todevelop their career in the way they wish.

The women ʼ s career successin Japanese society
There were two big waves in the historyof expanding women ʼs arena. The firstwave came before the wartime where
the population of professional womenwith specific skills increased, due tothe improvement of women ʼs education
standard as well as the shortage of total
manpower. The second started in the late
70s where legal backup for women ʼs jobopportunities, such as Working Women
Welfare Act and Equal Employment
Opportunity Act for Men and Women,
were established. It is vital to generate the“ Third Wave ”. The critical importance ofsuch is evident in the “Abenomics ʼ newthree arrows ” implying the necessity ofprompt action towards this. I personallythink it is effective to gain support ofpeople from overseas and elderly people(especially women) for household tasks
and childcare. To do this, in the light ofmy experience in Manila, establishing
relationships in the way ʻ not too close yet
not too far ʼ is vital, although Japanesepeople these days are accustomed toneither being close nor being far. By“ being far ”, I mean it is essential to havea contract that clearly sets out services tobe provided, fee for each services, andassociated responsibilities on both sides.

Diversity and Japanese economy
The word ʻ diversity ʼ has recently started
being used in conjunction with women ʼs

success. I have worked with people
from diverse backgrounds in variousorganizations such as the Ministr yof Finance, IMF, Cabinet Secretariat,
Hitotsubashi University, Asian DevelopmentBank, and the Bank of Japan. From thisexperience, I believe that, to truly embrace
diversity, it is important to have your own
ideas and clearly expose these to open
discussion rather than just respecting theopinion of others.

Wishing Japanese womena further success
From an international viewpoint, it seems
that many Japanese women still sufferfrom not achieving their full potential
due to various existing constraints.
Yet, recently there is a boost to female
empowerment. Although you must havemanaged to come this far without thisboost, I wish you make good use of thistail wind to further extend your arena.

N EWS L e tte rVol.

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2016.04.01

S pe c i a l P rog ra mm e

Introduction of Members

JAFE Year-End Par ty
Was held in December 10, 2015, at Ogasawaratei in Shinjuku. This is a special occasion toaccompany men in this women-only society
to spend vibrant time with charity auction,social dance, etc. The party started withthe opening speech by Ms. Masako Mori,a member of the House of Councillors andformer Minister of State for the DecliningBirthrate. We were privileged to have speechesalso by Mr. Yasuhisa Shiozaki, Minister ofHealth, Labour and Welfare, and Ms. AikoShimajiri, Minister of State as well as theparticipation of many honorary members tomake this night even more luxurious.

Har uno Yoshida
Managing Director, BT Japan Co., Ltd.

Over twenty years, Ms. Yoshida has carried out sales
promotion in the telecommunication field bothnationally and globally. In 2000s, she worked in NTT
America, Inc. and came back to Japan as the SalesManager for NTT Communications where she succeeded
in global projects and service promotion. She gained
current position in 2012. The first female Board ofCouncillor at Japan Business Federation since June 2015.

Yukiko Nagashima
Corporate Executive Officer, Recruit Holdings Co., Ltd.
President and Representative Director, Recruit Staffing Co., Ltd.

Ms. Nagashima is in her current position since 2008
after businesses including recruiting advertising,personnel and the in-charge person for a bridal
magazine “ Zexy ”. In 2013 she started promoting “smartwork ” where productivity per hour is valued insteadof working hours, leading to broaden potential of
female employment. Thanks to this, around 40% of themanagement class are females in her company.

Charity Auction
RevenueThank you for supporting our charity auction held at theYear-End Party. The revenue of 1,000,000 yen will be donatedto “ Tobitate Japan ”, the government project to support
studying overseas.

Next “JAFE Seminor”
Guest:

www.jafe.jp

Dr. Shinya Yamanaka

Date: Thursday the May 12, 2016

17:30 open 18:00 start 18:15 speech
Venue: The Industry Club of Japan, Main Hall (on the third floor)
1-4-6, Marunouchi, Chiyoda-ku, Tokyo, ph: 03-3281-1711

Capacity: 80 members (First come, first sold basis)
Fee: JAFE Members 6,000 yen (with tax) ,visitors 12,000 yen (only those interested in signing up for membership, and allowed only once)
Eligibility for entry: JAFE members
Those who are interested in signing up for membership are allowed to participate in the seminar only once

Reservation: Please apply through the website. http://www.jafe.jp/seminar/160404.html※ Cancellation fee (full booking fee) applies af ter the application due date to cover the cost of meal arrangement. Thank you for your understanding.
※ The seminar may be postponed in case of the guest ʼs urgent public duty.

JAFE Administration Office
Inside NPO Poppins 5F, Hiroo Plaza, 5-6-6, Hiroo, Shibuya-ku, Tokyo, 150-0012
Ph: 03-6450-4880

Email: info@jafe.jp