InsideJapan News Network

The government of Japan has adopted a number of new measures to enhance the presence of women in business.

Including measures to increase the number of women in managerial positions, the programme aims to enhance the advancement of women in Japanese society, reports Kyodo News.

The programme also aims to increase female representation in areas such as science and the medical services and a number of measures are required to be implemented by 2010.

Historically, gender roles in Japan have been particularly patriarchal, according to Mark Lim Shan-Loong.

"Traditional gender roles in Japan are characterised by a strong sense of patriarchy in society, which account for the bifurcation of the productive and reproductive spheres, with a distinct separation of gender roles," he said in a report entitled Tradition and Change - Examining Gender Roles in Japan.

However, the findings of a recent government study have concluded that the number of women in the workplace, aged between their late 20s and early 30s, is now beginning to rise.



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