Jap a n A s s o c i at i o n f o r Fe m a l e E x e c u t i v e s11Vol.

2017.04.01

T h e 8 t h J A F E Sem inar
The 8th JAFE Seminar was held at the Tokyo
American Club on March 13, 2017.
On this occasion, we were pleased to welcome theHonourable Ms. Tamayo Marukawa, the Ministerin charge of the Tokyo Olympic and Paralympic
Games who spoke about her background before
becoming minister, the national measures being
taken in preparation for the Olympic andParalympic Games, and her thoughts on a variety oftopics. There were many official sponsors among
the participants, who took part in a lively Q&Asession, as well as offers of cooperation for theGames.

Outline of the speech given by the Honourable Tamayo Marukawa, Minister in charge of the Tokyo Olympic and Paralympic Games
Changes in the working environment
for women
I grew up in an environment where both of
my parents were doctors, and so I grew up
thinking that women should work forthemselves. Even when I joined TV Asahi,maternity leave and childcare leave wereavailable and so it was commonplace forwomen to return to work after giving birth.
Th i s w a s a t i m e w h e n t h e w o r k i n genvironment for women had just started tosee vast improvements. This was thanks to
the women who had come before me
opening the way.
Meanwhile, there were very few female Diet
members in politics, and so it was very
difficult for me to engage in my politicalactivities while raising a child. However, inthe last few years this environment has been
undergoing a drastic change, and it has
become possible to engage in politicalactivities while raising children. I
experienced for myself that if the leader
waves the flag and if there is but one
pioneer, then there will be people whofollow.

Women's empowerment in the sports
world
The athletes’ world has also become asupportive environment not only for theathletes themselves, but also for thecoaches, managers and people in theposition of giving guidance so that they cancontinue with their activities through theprocess of giving birth and raising children.
I would like to support those female rolemodels who continue to play as athletes
while raising children, and hope that they
will continue to play a role participating insports events perhaps in the form of elitecoaches after their retirement.

Promoting a barrier-free environment at
the Tokyo Olympic and Paralympic GamesThe expected number of visitors to theTokyo Olympic Games is 10.1 million, thenumber of volunteers for the Games is80,000, and the number of volunteers being
recruited to act as guides around the city is
10,000 in Japan and abroad. This is awonderful opportunity to have 4.8 billion
people around the world focusing onTokyo. The inbound customer base has alsochanged, the frenzied shopping sprees havestopped, and the number of foreign visitors
enjoying the “Japan experience” hasincreased. We also plan to utilize thisinbound demand for regional revitalization.
Following on from the 1964 Tokyo
Paralympic Games, Japan is the only
country to ever host two summer
Paralympics.
In order to deepen our understanding of
the Paralympic Games, we have also createdvideo teaching materials for children toconvey a barrier-free mind. In the future, abarrier-free environment will be a design
standard for buildings and we will beworking to further promote this.
For the Tokyo Olympic Games, medicalcenters, wellness conditioning centers, andfacilities that allow children to be looked
after are currently being built. At the next
Olympics, we will be setting up a similar
support system for the Paralympics and will
create an environment so that more medals
can be won.

N EWS L e tter
Introducing a JAFE Member

11Vol.

2017.04.01

ReportConvening of the Spring Special Seminar
On January 30, 2017, JAFE held its Spring Special Seminar.
In order to deepen understanding of the impact of theTrump administration on the Japanese economy, weinvited Mr. Ryuichi Teshima, a former journalist and U.S.
Washington bureau chief of Japan Broadcasting
Corporation (NHK) to give a talk.

Y u mi ko M ur a ka m i

Head of OECDʼs Tokyo Center

Graduated from the Faculty ofForeign Studies of Sophia
University, Stanford Graduate
School (MA), Harvard Business
School (MBA), and assumed
current position in 2013. In chargeof management of the OECD
activities in Japan and the Asiar e g i o n . Th e T o k y o C e n t e r
conducts OECD surveys, researchand makes economic policy
recommendations forgovernments, private enterprises,
research institutes, the media andother organizations. Before
entering business school, also had
experience working in the United
Nations Development Programme
and the United Nations
Peacekeeping Operation. Memberof the Japan Advisory Board ofHarvard Business School.

NEWS

Summary of the speech of Mr. Ryuichi Teshima
Japan and the United States are currently facing a crisis of divorce.
President Trump said that “Japan should be obliged to support the United States” in relation to theJapan-U.S. security framework, and furthermore, if Japan is exposed to the nuclear threat of North Koreaand China, Japan “should develop nuclear weapons if necessary” . This is a remark that looks atreviewing the Japan-U.S. Security Treaty and its collapse ahead. Speaking in family terms, it is as though
we are being threatened with divorce. If talk of divorce comes up, the relationship that previously existed
between the couple has to change. In other words, the relationship between Japan and the US has alreadyundergone a significant change.

Asinine remarks of President Trump threatening Japan’s political strategy
President Trump asked, “Why should America be bound to the ‘one China principle’ ?” in terms ofTaiwan, and also expressed in nuanced terms a redirection, depending on the situation, of the traditional
Chinese policy towards Taiwan. At the US-China talks in 1971, the position of the US side was that, “TheUnited States hopes for a peaceful solution to the Taiwan Strait” . In other words, if China invaded Taiwan,
the United States would exercise military power. Japan, which is a member of the alliance, would have nochoice but to take joint action. In this case, China would shut down the Toyota plants located throughout
China, and the Japanese economy would be devastatingly affected.
On the other hand, if Japan were to refuse to cooperate with the United States, the Japan-US Security Treaty
would die a sudden death. Avoiding a confrontation between China and Taiwan is Japan’ s top-prioritystrategy. And so these remarks of President Trump which threaten this strategy cannot be ignored.

Glo ba l S ummit W om en 2017 h el d i n T ok y oEvery year, the Global Summit of Women is held in various countries around the world, and this time
it was held in Tokyo from May 11, 2017 for three days. With the participation of many JAFE members,
1,600 participants from 62 countries, the largest number ever, gathered from all over the world.
The theme of this Summit was “Beyond Womenomics: Accelerating Access / Increasing Impact” .
Vigorous discussions took place in all of the sessions not only about accelerating access for women inpolitics, economics, business and other fields, but also about what needs to be done in order for
women to actively engage in and have an impact on a fusion of technology and software, and socialproblems.
In the open session on the first day of the Summit, Mr. Hiroshige Seko, the Minister of Economy,
Trade and Industry, and Mr. Sadayuki Sakakibara, the Chairman of the Japan Business Federationgave talks. Ms. Yuriko Koike, Governor of Tokyo and Irene Natividad, the President of the GSW
engaged in dialogue. In addition, Mr. Shinzo Abe, the Prime Minister was awarded the Global
Leadership Award for his achievements in leading Womenomics. On the night of the same day, awelcome dinner sponsored by the Cabinet Office and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs was glitteringlyheld at Akasaka Palace, the State Guest, which was lit up for the first time in its history.
On the second and third day, a number of joint sessions and subcommittees were held, starting with
the Breakfast Networking where women could talk freely going beyond country and position. The
female students who had been invited also enthusiastically gave comments. The 2017 GSW in Tokyo
where discussions were lively from start to finish ended in a resounding success. Not only was a newrecord established for the biggest number of participants, but over the three-day period, the potentialof female leaders going beyond the themes and fields to explore an unknown future was passionately
discussed beyond countries and generations.

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