JAPAN: New Japanese plan to promote women

AWAKENING

The Japanese government has announced plans to get more women into jobs.

The new plan, prepared by the Cabinet Office, outlines a series of measures intended for implementation by 2010.

It follows a decision by Prime Minister Yasuo Fukuda last month to find new ways of promoting gender equality.

As well as working towards women filling more jobs in the sciences, public and medical services, the new plan will also urge business leaders to give more managerial jobs to women.

Gender equality and social affairs minister Yoko Kamikawa will visit business group leaders to push the new message from Tokyo.

It is hoped that under the program, the percentage of female government employees at the section chief equivalent or above will rise above 5 percent by the end of the 2010 fiscal year.

A plan endorsed by the government three years ago to promote women's social participation aimed to raise the percentage of women in key social positions to 30 percent by 2020.
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