Japan's gender equality falls to record low, behind South Korea and China

By Esra Tekin

ISTANBUL (AA) – The World Economic Forum said on Wednesday that Japan's gender gap ranking in 2023 is the worst ever recorded, placing 125th out of 146 countries and lowest in the East Asia and Pacific region, local media reported.

“The government as a whole will aggressively push forward efforts" to close the gender gap, said Chief Cabinet Secretary Hirokazu Matsuno during a regular news conference, according to Tokyo-based Kyodo news.

Among the G-7 nations, Japan ranked last, behind Italy (79th), while Germany performed the best, ranking sixth among advanced economies.

Japan also trailed behind its neighboring countries, with South Korea ranking 105th and China ranking 107th, according to the World Economic Forum report.

Critics attribute the country's low ranking to deeply ingrained gender roles, which have hindered the government's unfocused attempts to address the declining birth rate, the news agency said.

According to fresh estimates, Japan's current population of 126.15 million as of 2020 is expected to fall below the 100 million mark in 2056.

The country's population shrank by 556,000 in 2022 from a year earlier to 124.9 million, as the number of Japanese nationals fell to its lowest level on record.