Total Fertility Rate, Number of Births
Both the Total Fertility Rate and the number of births have been on a downward trend since the Second Baby Boom between
1971 and 1974. The trend reversed in 2006 when the number of births reached 1,112,278, which was an increase by 32,041 fromthe previous year. This is the first increase in 12 years since 1994 when the number of births increased by 51,672.

3,000,000

5.0

1947〜50 1st Baby BoomTFR
4.32
Births 2,696,638 ※1950

Numbers of Births; Left Scale

1971〜74 2nd Baby BoomTFR
2.14
Births 2,091,983 ※1973

2,500,000

Total Fertility Rate(TFR); Right Scale2006
TFR 1.30?
Births 1,112,278

1966
Year of Hinoeuma
2,000,000

2005
TFR 1.26
Births 1,090,237
1995〜99
Angel Plan

1,500,000

4.0

3.0

2000〜04
New Angel Plan
2.0

1,000,000

2005〜09
Child/ Child care
support Plan

500,000

1.0

2006〜
New Policies to Cope with the Declining Birthrate
01950

60

708090

2000

2006

0.0

"Population Vital Statistics" Ministry of Health, Labour and WelfareTrends of Population by Age Structure
If the declining birth rate continues, the total population of Japan will be 100 million by 2045. In 1967 when
the population reached 100 billion, the aged ratio (% of population aged over 65) was only 6.6 % where as in
2045 it is estimated to reach 38.2%.
2005
127.7million

2006- Projection

130,000,000

1967
100.0million

120,000,000
110,000,000

Poplation
Aged 65 or older

2045
100.0million

100,000,000
90,000,000
80,000,000

1920
56.0million

1967
Aged Ratio
6.6%

Poplation
Aged 15 to 64

70,000,00060,000,000

1945
72.0million

2045
Aged Ratio
38.2%

50,000,000
40,000,000
30,000,000
20,000,000
10,000,000

Poplation
Aged 0 to 401920 1930 1940 1950 1960 1970 1980 1990 2000 2010 2020 2030 2040 2050 2060 2070 2080 2090 2100
Source: “Population Projections for Japan" National Institute of Population and Social Security

Relationship between Female Labor Force Participation Rate and TFRFemale labor force participation rate and total fertility rate in 24 OECD countries indicate that, as of 2000,countries with more women in the labor force achieve higher total fertility rate.
2.10
New Zealand

IcelandUSA

2.00

Ireland
Norway1.90
Luxembourg

1.80

FrenchAustralia

R2 = 0.3041

Belguium

1.70

Denmark

TFR

NetherlandsFinland

UK

1.60

CanadaKorea

1.50

Portugal
SwedenGermanyJapan

Switzerland

1.40
ItaryGreece
Spain

1.30

Austlia

1.20
45.0

50.0

55.0

60.0

Source: "Annual Report on the State of the Formation of a Gender Equal Society"Cabinet Office, 2005

65.0
Female Labor Force

70.0

75.0

80.0

85.0

Men’s Involvement in Household Chores and Child Care
Men in Japan spend least time on household chores and child care compared to men in other countries. Less
time spent by men on household tasks and child care is associated with lower fertility rate.
Hours spent by men on household chores and child care in thehousehold with child under age 5(hours)

0.0

1.0

2.0

3.0

Hours spent by men in household chores/child care and fertility rate

4.0 2.00
NorwayJapan

0.4 0.4

Child Care
Other

1.90

Australia

UK
FrenchCanada

1.5

UK

1.5

2.4

1.80
USA

1.6
1.70

1.2

Sweden

2.5

TF
R

2

R = 0.3116
1.60

Germany

1.0

Denmark

2.5

Finland

1.50

Australia

0.9

Netherlands
Austlia

2.0

Japan

1.40

USA

0.6

Italy
Germany

2.0
1.30

Italy

0.6

1.2

5.0（％）

Source: "Annual Report on the State of the Formation of a Gender Equal Society" Cabinet Office, 2005

15.0

25.0

35.0

Ratio: Voluntary Work Time/Work Time

45.0

New Political processes to Cope With the Declining Birthrate
HOKKAIDO
Apr. 16, 2006

Regional Bloc meetings with the Minister and Governors

TOHOKU
Apr. 9, 2006

TOKAI・HOKURIKU
Jan. 7, 2006
CHUGOKU
Apr. 1, 2006
KYUSHU
Dec. 18, 2005

KINKI
Mar. 25, 2006KITAKANTO
Feb. 19, 2006

SHIKOKU
Feb. 4, 2006

MINAMIKANTO
Feb. 12, 2006

TOKYO
Apr. 22, 2006

New Policies to Cope With the Declining BirthrateChild-raising support measures
Ⅰ Newborn and infant stage（from pregnancy and birth through to thenursing of infants）① Improvement of procedures for the lump-sum allowance for childbirth andnursing② Reduction of the cost burden for medical expenses during pregnancy③ Expansion of public financial support for fertility treatment④ Ensuring thorough usage of and improvement in conditions for paid leave
during initial stages of pregnancy⑤ Enhancement of obstetric medical services through the employment of
more obstetricians, etc.
⑥ Establishment of an extra allowance for infants within the child-support
allowance system⑦ Creation of childcare support network, including home visits to families
engaged in the early stages of raising a family
Ⅱ Stage up to school entry① Enhancement of centers for child-raising support in the community,
targeting all families② Further promotion of Zero Waiting List Campaign③ Enhancement of childcare for sick and recuperating children, and children
with disabilities, etc.
④ Enhancement of the pediatric healthcare system⑤ Look into revising the Law for Promotion of Measures to Support theDevelopment of the Next Generation, including the announcement of anAction Plan
⑥ Enhancement and Dissemination of system of child-care leave and reduced
working hours⑦ Promotion of childcare service provision to employees, including childcare
facilities established within offices⑧ Promotion of measures to prevent child accidents⑨ Enhancement of efforts to reduce the burden on parents or guardians forpre-school education
Ⅲ Primary school stage① Promotion of the After School Children’s Plan in elementary schools
nationwide② Implementation of further safety measures for children while at school or on
their commute to or from school, including the introduction of school buses
Ⅳ Junior high, high school, and university stage① improvement of scholarships, etc.
② Recommendation of student babysitters, etc.

Reform of working practices① Employment assistance measures for young people→Strengthening career development education to prevent youth frombecoming ‘permanent part-timer” and ‘NEET’ (Not in Education,Employment or Training)→Support to ‘older’ permanent part-timers to become formal employee② Promotion of equal treatment for part-timers→Strengthened measures including in setting enabling legal frameworks③ Assistance measures for continuing employment or reemployment forwomen→Measures to encourage women to take maternity/child care leave and tohelp them balance work and child rearing, including shorter workinghours→Vocational and skills training for women who seek reemployment④ Promotion of corporate efforts for child-raising support→Funding support to companies that deploy child-rearing support system⑤ Review of working practices, including revision of long working hours→Strengthened measures including in setting enabling legal frameworks⑥ Promotion of a joint public-private movement to jointly promote childraising assistance, including reviews of working practices→Promotion of good “Work-Life balance”

Other important areas① Consideration of a taxation system designed to assist those engaged inchild- raising, etc.
② Promotion of foster parent and adoption system, including publicity
activities to raise awareness③ Strengthening of measures to prevent child abuse and measures to support
children in care
④ Promotion of food education⑤ Assistance for family homes, and for situations in which three generationsof one family live together or in close proximity, etc.

Number of Marriages and Births
Since Dr. Kuniko Inoguchi, MP, was appointed as the first full-fledged Minister of State to cope with the declining birthrate in
October 2005, the number of marriages has been increasing. In 2006, there were 1,122,278 births, increased from the previous year
by 32,041. The downward trend was reversed. The number increased for the first time in 12 years since 1994 when the number ofbirths had increased by 51,672.

755,000

Number of Births

Number of Marriages
100,000

98,276

2006

95,817750,000

96,853
96,231

96,04894,302

94,92695,00095,095

2007

95,27592,047

94,93093,124
92,61893,016
91,77089,037

93,715745,000

93,322

90,14389,70590,00090,745

85,101

89,41588,001740,000

86,35285,00084,20383,516735,000

2005
80,000
JanFeb730,000

Mar

AprMayJunJulAug

SepOctNov

Dec

Total Fertility Rate, Number of Births
1971
TFR 2.16
TFR（Right Scale）

2,500,000

725,000

Births2,000,000

Sum for a year up to the current month
1,500,000

720,000

1989
TFR 1.53

2006 TFR
Births
2005 TFR
Births1.30?
1,122,278
1.26
1,090,237

2.0
2002
TFR 1.32

2nd Baby Boom（1971〜1974）

2.51.5

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 91011121 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 101112 1 2 3
1,000,000

2005

2006

2007

Source: "Population Vital Statistics" Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare

1.0
1970

1980

1990

2000

2006

Framework for Gender Equality in Japan
1946 The Constitution of Japan
Article 14: All of the people are equal under the law and there shall be no discrimination in political,
economic or social relations because of race, creed, sex, ･･･
1986 Law for Equal Employment Opportunity of Men and Women
1999 Basic Law for a Gender-Equal Society enacted with unanimous approval of Diet.
2000 Basic Plan for Gender Equality
First comprehensive and cross-cutting policy planning to enhance gender equality.
2005 Second Basic Plan for Gender Equality→ Promotion of comprehensive and systematic measures.
/Expand women’s participation in policy decision-making process.
(For women, fill 30% of the leadership positions in all spheresof society by the year 2020.)/Secure equal work opportunities and treatment for men and women.
・Revision of the Equal Employment Opportunity Law.
/Eliminate all forms of violence against women.

Council for Gender Equality

2006 Revision of the Equal Employment Opportunity Law/Introduction of the concept of and measures to eliminate indirect discrimination.

The Basic Law for a Gender-Equal Society
Five Basic principles(Article 3) Respect for the 1946 The Constitution of Japan
Formation of a gender-equal society shall be promoted based on respect for the human rights of women and men.
(Article 4) Consideration of social systems or practices
Care should be taken so that social systems and practices have as neutral an impact as possible on selecting socialactivities.
(Article 5) Joint participation in planning and deciding policies, etc.
Formation of a gender-equal society shall be promoted based on securing opportunities for women and men toparticipate jointly as equal partners in the society in planning and deciding policies of the State or local governments, orpolicies of private bodies.
(Article 6)Comaptibility of activities in family life and other activities
Formation of a gender-equal society shall be promoted so that women and men can perform their roles smoothly ashousehold members in home-related activities.
(Article 7) International cooperation
In consideration of the close relationship between the internal promotion of the formation of a gender-equal society andefforts by the international community, formation of a gender-equal society shall be promoted based on international
cooperation.

Basic Plan for Gender Equality (Dec 27, 2005)
Expand women’s participation in decision-making processes
zPromote efforts to expand women’s participation in every
field, so that women will take at least 30% of the leadership
positions in all fields of society by 2020.
zEncourage voluntary positive action to expand women’sparticipation in every field of society.
Challenge support for female workers
zPromote challenge support measures and create a one-stop
information service.
zEnhance support measures to assist unemployed women toreturn to work (e.g., to be re-employed or start a business).
zEncourage companies to openly offer full-time and otherpositions to female workers who had left their prior jobs forchild rearing or other reasons.
Secure equal opportunities and treatment between men andwomen in the field of employmentzExamine measures to ensure substantial equal opportunities in
the field of employment, and promote equal employment
opportunities and treatment on the job.

Efforts to promote gender equality in new fields
zPromote gender equality in new fields (e.g., science andtechnology, disaster prevention, disaster recovery, regional
development, community renovation, tourism, andenvironment) that require new approaches to achieve genderequality.
zExpand employment opportunities for female researchers,and provide support measures to balance work and family.
zFormulate disaster prevention measures to address thedifferent needs of women and men.
zHighlight successful examples of regional development inwhich women have participated.
zExpand women’s participation in the field of environmental
conservation.
Promote appropriate medicines that address the specificneeds of women and men
zDisseminate knowledge about appropriate medicines that
addresses the specific needs of women and men among medical
professionals, as well as citizens.
Gender-equal society for men

Support the efforts of men and women to harmonize workwith their family and community life, and review the typesof employment
zConduct a significant and specific review of the types ofemployment for women and men to assist them in balancing
work and family and/or community life.
Promote gender equality through the enrichment ofeducation and learning

Eliminate all forms of violence against women
zPromote measures to protect and support victims ofviolence.
zPromote measures to prevent violence against women.
Related measures will be formulated and implemented froma gender-equal perspective to promote gender equality in all
fieldsGender Empowerment Measure and Human Development Index
Japan ranks 42nd out of 75 countries, the lowest among developed countries, in the GEM (Gender Empowerment
Measure) that measures women’s participation in political and economic life as well as in the decision-making processes.
On the other hand, Japan ranks 7th out of 177 countries in the HDI (Human Development Index) that looks at importantdimensions of people’s well-being and human development.

HDI (Human Development Index)

GEM (Gender Empowerment Measure)
GEM measures to what
degree women take part inpolitical and economic lifeand participate indecision-making. It tracks
the share of seats inparliament held bywomen; of female
legislators, senior officials
and managers; and offemale professional andtechnical workers; and thegender disparity in earnedincome。

18 Singapore
19 Argentina
21 Costa Rica
25 Lithuania
33 Croatia
35 Tanzania
39 Peru …

1

Norway0.932

2

Sweden0.883

3

Iceland0.866

4

Denmark

0.861

5Belgium

0.855

6

Finland0.853

7

Netherlands

0.844

8

Australia

0.833

9

Germany

0.816

10Austria

0.815

Measures well-being ofpeople and the level ofhuman development ina country by looking atlife expectancy,
education (adult literacy
and gross enrolmentrate) and a standard ofliving (measured bypurchasing powerparity).

1

Norway0.965

2

Iceland0.960

3Australia

0.957

4

Ireland0.956

5

Sweden0.951

6Canada0.950

7Japan

0.949

8USA

0.948

9

Switzerland

0.947

10

Netherlands

0.947

16

French0.942

11Canada

0.810

12

USA

0.808

16

UK

0.755

17

Italy

0.940

24

Italy

0.653

18

UK

0.940

42Japan0.557

21Germany

0.932

Source: “Human Development Report” UNDP, 2006

Women’s Participation in Politics
Women hold 10.9% of seats in the National Diet (79 out of 720 seats). In the House of Representatives, theshare is 9.2% (44 out of 480) and in the House of Councilors the share is 14.2% (35 out of 240). Among politicalparties, the Liberal Democratic Party holds the largest number of women MPs in both Houses.

Diet Member(720people)

10.9%(79people)

89.1% (641people)

Member of the House ofRepresentatives(480people)

9.2%(44people)

91.8% (436people)

Member of the House ofCounsillors(240people)

14.2%(35people)
0%

10%

WomenMen

85.8% (205people)
20%

30%

40%

50%

60%

70%

Number of Woman Diet members

80%

90%

100%

March 2007

House of Representatives

House of Councilors

Total

Liberal Democratic Party271340Democratic Party

91120Komeito

459Communist Party

235

Social Democratic Party

213Other022

Data: House of Representatives

Koizumi Taking Leadership in Promoting Gender Equality
In the general election of September 2005 held under then-Prime Minister Koizumi, the share of seats in theHouse of Representatives held by women reached historic-high.
All of the 16 women who ran from the Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) won the election and the number ofwomen MPs in the LDP marked the historic high at 26.
50

10.0%
9.0%
8.4%

9.2%

Ratio: Women's Member of the House of Representatives (Right Scale)
43

40

44
8.0%

7.3% 7.1%

39
Women's Member of the House of Representatives (LDP)

35*LDP was formed in 195530

346.0%

Women's Member of the House of Representatives
4.6%
20
2.7%

2.6%

2.4%

15
12

10

1.9% 1.9%
9

9

1.7%
8772

2738
3

7
2

1.8%
1.2%

1196
1

126

14
1.6%
8

1.4%

27

12

2.0%

710
19

4

919 /152/101953/4
1955/2
1958
19 /560/119 163/1
1196719 /169/1
19 272/1
19 276/1
19 279/101980
19 /683/1
21986/7
1990/2
1993
19 /796/1
02000
20 /603/1
12005/92007/3

7/4

1946/4

194

19
4

2.3%

2.2%

1.6%
11 1.5% 1.5% 1.4%
1.4%

304.0%

233.2%

Data: House of Representatives

0.0%The East Asia Gender Equality Ministerial Meeting (1)HOD
HODofof16
16countries
countriesandand22international
internationalorganizationsorganizations
Australia,
Australia,Brunei,
Brunei,Cambodia,
Cambodia,China,
China,India,India,Indonesia,Indonesia,Japan,Japan,Korea,Korea,Lao,Lao,Malaysia,Malaysia,Myanmar,Myanmar,New
NewZealand,Zealand,Philippines,Philippines,Singapore,Singapore,Thailand,
Thailand,Viet
VietNam,Nam,UNDP,
UNDP,UNESCAPUNESCAPzzzzzzz

The East Asia Gender Equality Ministerial Meeting was held on June 30 and July 1, 2006 in Tokyo,
Japan.
The Meeting was Chaired by Dr. Kuniko Inoguchi, Minister of State for Gender Equality and Social
Affairs of Japan.
This was the first East Asia ministerial-level meeting aimed to discuss the promotion of genderequality and the empowerment of women in this region.
The Meeting was attended by 16 countries of East Asia and 2 international organizations.
The Meeting unanimously adopted the Tokyo Joint Ministerial Communiqué which, among others,
decided to continue the Ministerial Meeting process on an annual basis.
Encouraged by the success of the East Asia Gender Equality Ministerial Meeting hosted by theGovernment of Japan, the Meeting resolved to continue the Ministerial Meeting process on anannual basis.
The meeting agreed that the next meeting will be held in India in 2007 and in Republic of Korea in2008.

The East Asia Gender Equality Ministerial Meeting (2)Tokyo Joint Ministerial Communiqué (Main Points)
Despite differences in economic development levels and cultural/religious and political contexts,
an amazing level of consensus was achievable on points including the need to invigorate national
machineries and local focal points for overcoming feminization of poverty and stereo-typicalgender roles and socialization patterns, to build capacities for gender statistics and sexdisaggregated data, to promote gender sensitive budgeting to allow the consideration of gender
perspectives into macro-economic and micro-economic frameworks.
The Meeting agreed to share best practices
for making progress towards women’s
empowerment and bringing aboutsocial transformation.
The Meeting agreed that recognitionof women’s human rights, the promotionof their participation and leadership indecision-making at all levels and equal
partnership between women and men are
prerequisite to achieve gender equality
and the advancement of women.
The Meeting noted the necessity ofconcerted efforts, not only to benefit
women but also to build a society thatis equitable and sustainable.