LEADERSHIP INSIGHTSSHUHEI NAKATA
President, NAKATA KOGEI Co., Ltd.

WHY THE PRESIDENT OF A TRADITIONAL JAPANESE COMPANYPROMOTES GENDER EQUALITY
Since its establishment in 1946, NAKATA KOGEI Co., Ltd. has been producing wooden coat hangers in Toyooka City, Hyogo Prefecture,
in western Japan. President Shuhei Nakata is the grandson of the company’s founder and took office after studying in the UnitedStates and working in Tokyo. He is promoting gender equality through innovative actions; adding new perspectives to a very
traditional company.

What was the rationale/motivation for signing the Women’s Empowerment Principles (WEPs)?
The Mayor of Toyooka City, where our company was founded, has been working to close the gender gap for
two years, and my employees and I have participated in many of the seminars that it has organized to promotethis. The values these meetings have shared are inspiring, especially from the perspective of a President of a
local company.
I learnt about the Women’s Empowerment Principles (WEPs) from the city’s gender adviser at one of the seminars.
The six steps of the WEPs Journey showed concrete next steps, and I learned how different initiatives that
seemed initially irrelevant were actually very much related to each other. That is why I decided to sign the WEPs.
Our business partners are in the fashion industry and very conscious of environmental and gender issues. I foundthe WEPs Principle 5, Enterprise Development, Supply Chain, Marketing Practices, particularly interesting, as itemphasizes the need to promote gender equality in the supply chain. I also agree that we should work together
with our stakeholders rather than separately.
I would like to build on our past efforts in promoting gender equality at our workplace by following the WEPs.
We will re-evaluate our baseline and apply the WEPs effectively.

Why do you think it is important for companies at the regional level to promote gender equality?
The challenge is how to deal with the reality of population decline. We need to be more alert and responsible forthis crisis. I feel that women’s abilities are not recognized enough at regional level. We are promoting genderequality at our company in the belief that it benefits both women and men.
I had not originally planned to lead the company, so I went to college in the United States and worked there fora while. I then returned to Japan in 2007 and worked at our showroom in Aoyama, Tokyo, commuting back andforth between Tokyo and Toyooka for 12 years before resettling back in Toyooka with my family in March 2019.
The years at Tokyo enabled me to see both the potential and challenges of working in the region. The speed ofchange in urban areas can seem too far away from us in the provinces, which can be a challenge – people see
this as something on the media only, but we should be equally up to speed.
You led by example and took paternity leave. What were the reactions of people around you?
We had our second son three months after our return to Toyooka. I did not take paternity leave when our firstson was born but after raising him together with my wife, I felt the strong need to do so for our second child.
My wife also asked me to take leave, so I took a month off after my wife and son were discharged from the hospital.
Since then, I have been recommending that our male employees take paternity leave. I feel it is essential to break
the gender stereotype that women are caregivers and men breadwinners.
When I was planning to take the leave, I was also encouraged by our mayor, after hearing him mention his plan
to promote paternity leave for employees at the municipality office.
When I look around our region, companies in general seem reluctant to respond to these changes. However,there are initiatives that spark change, such as the mayor’s initiative; and an old school mate, who works in Toyooka,
became the first one to take paternity leave at his company after hearing that I had taken mine. I would like tocreate a cluster of employers in the region that promote gender equality in order to build on, and accelerate,
these changes.
What kind of steps can small and medium enterprises take?
Small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) are able to introduce changes more quickly and cheaply than larger
companies as their leaders have a more influence over decision-making. Since becoming President of theNAKATA KOGEI in 2017, I want to expand our business globally and would therefore like to promote the WEPs
both domestically and globally.
I have heard that consumers in Europe make deliberate decisions not to buy from companies that are not taking
measures to address environmental issues. I believe that building a sustainable society is an important strategy
for companies wanting to please consumers.
What are the responses to your actions from your employees and other stakeholders?
I think following the WEPs can make employees feel connected to global trends. We also have opportunities
to reach out to children in Toyooka. We receive study tours from local elementary schools, and I also visit
schools to give lectures. On such occasions, I make sure to mention gender issues and the importance ofalleviating gender gaps. I believe these activities go beyond our corporate activities and contribute to thelarger regional development.

Please tell us about your future aspirations.
We have a dream of becoming the best wooden hanger manufacturer in the world – and the promotion ofgender equality is necessary for us to reach that goal. The city of Toyooka is facing an unavoidable population
decline, which pushes us to recruit and retain human resources fairly and look at the individuals involved rather
than simply hiring men as we have done before. I believe that, by promoting gender equality and a fair working
environment, we will be able to attract better talent.
One of our business partners is a global clothing company and their domestic business is led by a female CEO.
To see a global company appoint a female CEO for their business in Japan is truly encouraging.
As such, I believe it is necessary for businesses to work on advancing gender equality through the WEPs. It is noteasy to embrace and respect diversity, but I will continue to work as hard as I can.

Women’s Empowerment Principles

High-level corporate
leadership

Education and training
for women

weps.org

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Workplace HR

Supplier diversity& marketing practices

weps@unwomen.org

Produced by:

Employee well-being
and safety

Community
engagement@WEPrinciples

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DISCLAIMER: The views expressed in this publication are those of the authors and do not necessarily represent the views of the European Union, UN Women, International Labour Organization or
the United Nations and their Member States.