WOMEN IN POSTWAR JAPAN

Student Name

Class

Date
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In the 1940s the world war caused disruptions in Japan, that forced men to be recruited to

join the military. Women were drawn into workplace to fill in the vacancy left by the men.1

When the war came to an end in 1945, men returned from war but the women demanded more

privileges for supporting the country during war. The constitution was amended giving women

the right to vote and some were elected to positions in the Diet (Japanese parliament). In the

elections of 1946, two thirds of the eligible women cast their votes and thirty-nine women were

elected to the Diet.2 As much as women were given an opportunity to vote, the society expected

them to return home and continue their roles of being good wives and mothers. In the following

years, Japanese women pushed for opportunities in the work places, participation in global

matters and cultural reform, and they still managed to keep the Japanese tradition of being the

good wife who supports the husband and raises responsible children.

In postwar period, the Japanese economy began expanding due to increased creation of

businesses and corporations. A new trend of the Office Lady and the Salary Man which judged

the view of women and men at work places emerged. The concept of the Office Lady had been

in place even before the World Wars which described white collard female workers who were

brave enough to find work and employment in fields mostly dominated by men. However, the

idea of the Salary Man was deeply rooted in Japan to the point that the companies spend large

amount of money and time in training of mostly their male employees to create stability. The

men worked in their jobs for long hour until their late ages when they could not perform much.

The Japanese women got employed to fill up gaps in organization mostly in non-career track

positions while being paid less salary compared to the men.3 The Office ladies were usually
1
Barbara Molony, "Gendering Modern Japanese History: A Historiographical Update," In The Routledge
Companion to Gender and Japanese Culture, ed. Jennifer Coates, Lucy Fraser and Mark Pendleton (London:
Routledge, 2019), 11-21.
2
Barbara Molony, Gendering Modern Japanese History, 18.
3
Mary C. Brinton, Women and the Economic Miracle: Gender and Work in Postwar Japan (Berkeley:
University of California Press, 1993), vii, 36.
 3

young college graduates. They were not only expected to work as hard as men but also find a

spouse. Despite both young women and men starting their jobs similarly, most women shifted to

part-time employment as they became older.4 The society pressure that expected women to quit

their jobs and start a family made it difficult for them to rise into higher position in the

companies. They were force to be contented with the lower ranks they occupied. With the

stereotype in mind, most women believed that they were unable to balance both work and raise a

family which prevented them from applying into the higher job positions. The few who chose to

extend their carrier aspirations focused more on their work with many abandoning the idea of

getting married. The trend of career-focused women is not embraced as much as it might seem.

The pressure to leave office and raise a family is evident to date where women are encouraged to

marry the Salary Man in their office who is considered stable. As soon as they give birth, the

women who remained in their job position are encouraged to live their work and concentrate on

raising the children. They are not expected to return until the children are fully grown. The

reentrants are only allowed to work part-time and receive less pay compared to new female

employees straight from college.5 Many Office Ladies are considered as temporary workers that

only support themselves until they are married.

The main duty of the Office Ladies was to serve tea in meetings, take care of the office,

and type and file reports for the male workers. Serving tea emphasized their position as only

subordinate workers. When it came to typing letters and filling reports, women had the decision

on how to perform the task and when to deliver it. They were only needed to do so when the men

were too occupied to do it themselves. The Office Ladies, when given a chance to type,

4
Yuko Ogasawara, Office Ladies and Salary Men: power, Gender and Work in Japanese Companies
(Berkeley: University of California Press, 1998), 11.
5
Yuko Ogasawara, Office Ladies and Salary Men, 23.
 4

portrayed their skills while pointing out mistakes on the work. Tea making was demeaning for

them.

The Salary Men were considered lost without the assistance of Office Ladies. In recent

years, the partnership between the man and woman in the office has increasingly been

challenged. It began with a few women who stood up for themselves when mistreated in the

offices. More young working women joined them and demanded inclusivity in the job positions

and the boards of directors. In 2017, a report released by Japan Centre of Internationals

Exchange showed that meaningful career opportunities for women are restricted in political and

corporate sectors.6 The Japanese government has tried forcing the companies to offer better

maternity leave and assist women who both work and raise children to solve the problem of slow

economic growth caused by reduced birth rate. The idea of women leaving office once they get

married is gradually eroded with women now allowed to work until they get pregnant. Systems

have been put in place to help women that had left to raise children to return to work. These

systems are often criticized to be just for show without actually helping mothers to go back to

work. When women left their work for maternity leave, their co-workers were expected to pick

up the work they had left. The pressure from the co-workers made only a few women to return

after six months of maternity leave while most preferred quilting their jobs.

Women who leave their job positions when they get married or get children were

expected by their husbands to take charge of their homes including finances. In most cases,

Japanese women at home manage money, pay bills and even save some for emergency purposes.

They have full responsibility of the family including managing their children’s education and

catering for the elderly. They play a major role in the Japanese labor market that the country is

6
Japan Center for International Exchange, “Common Ground and Common Obstacles: US-Japan Women
Leaders Dialogue,” JCIE, last modified 2018, https://www.jcie.org/analysis/books-reports/commonground/.
 5

highly dependent on them. The government failed to consider the roles women play in the

Japanese society. By encouraging more women to keep working, it creates a pile of family

responsibilities that are traditionally carried out by married women. Most working men have

become workaholics that cannot be depended upon to assist in family responsibilities.

In addition to taking full control of family matters and family budget control in post-war

period, women control the amount of money the man receives every month dubbed ‘pocket

money’. Women in charge of the family decide on how much allowance the Salary Man receives

from his monthly income as pocket money. According to Shinshei Bank Limited- a Tokyo based

lender, women controlling the family budget issued their husbands an average of 37873 Japanese

Yen as pocket money making it the third lowest since the beginning of the survey in 1979.7 The

husbands most often misuse the pocket money with most of them using it to drink, smoke or

other recreational activities. To be able to efficiently manage and save the money, the wives also

set an allowance for themselves. The ability to control the amount of money their husbands

receive each month give the women control over how much freedom their husbands get in the

name of relaxing after work or partying. A limitation of the pocket money has forced husbands

to spend more time with their families. Women are able to set aside some secret money for

emergency use.

With Japanese fathers frequently absent in their families and away from their children,

the role of parenting is taken by the mothers. The husbands end up hardly knowing the interests

and activities of their children. The husbands act as companions while the women take full care

of their children.8 The society high expectations for students to have exemplary performance at

7
Toru Fujioka, “Japanese husbands' pocket money seen shrinking as mothers gain more respect from kids,”
The Japan Times, July 3, 2017.

8
Ezra F. Vogel, Japan's New Middle Class; the Salary Man and His Family in a Tokyo Suburb (Berkeley:
University of California Press, 1963), 78-81.
 6

school and get good jobs left no room for failure. Failing to do so is considered to be the result of

mediocre performance by the mother in managing the child. To prevent the blame on them,

mothers spend a lot of time with their children monitoring and assisting them in preparations for

entrance examinations which would land them a good job. The children in turn feel the burden to

impress their mothers by doing well at school. All that the absent fathers do is to approve the

steps taken by the mothers in ensuring their children pass in examinations. Some mothers end up

sending their children to private schools with the aim of improving their grades.9 The success of

children brings along joy to their mothers allowing them to brag about their children. The

mothers’ efforts bring honor to the family.

Some Japanese women are shifting away from cultural norms and practices. The new

generation in particular is turning away from the footstep of their parents. The men do not want

work to occupy their whole lives while the women want slots in the top positions of corporations

and politics. The rebellious nature of the young generation is drawing attention of companies

which respond by changing some principles to suit the new generation. The young women want

their children to have a social life rather than experiencing pressure to perform well in school in

order to get a good job. The current society is also shifting to better employees’ working

conditions which allow them to take a break.

Japan found out that they are falling behind in terms of economic development compared

to other nations. The idea of the Salary Man that had brought about Japanese economic miracle

was facing a shortage of working population. The changing economic times is transforming the

mindset about the ideal worker characterized by men working long hours and forgoing their

family responsibilities. The country realized that in order to close the gap of shortage of

employees, women had to be included in the workplaces.

9
Ezra F. Vogel, Japan's New Middle Class, 135.
 7

Starting a new business in Japan has proven to be very difficult with many attributing it

to women discouraging their husbands and children from doing so. In 2015, the director of the

New Business Policy Office in the Ministry of Economy, Yoshiaki Ishii told the Los Angeles

Times that whenever a young man wants to start a new company, it is always the wife, the

mother or the wife’s mother who stops them.10 The family women see quitting a job to start one’s

own business as too risky. Although a few universities like Waseda have created entrepreneurial

research units to teach student how to start their own businesses, the Japanese university students

are still discouraged from becoming entrepreneurs. In cases where there have been successful

startups, they are often male dominated while women are discouraged from pursuing

entrepreneurial skills. A few women were able to start successful businesses amid the stereotype.

A good example is Noriko Teramoto who founded Digimom workers in 1999. The company is

specialized in designing web pages, computer system development, database creation and

management and content creation. Teramoto hired women to overcome the barriers in labor

market. She also has to perform her duties as a wife of taking care of the family while running

her business. It shows how the post-war gender divisions of labor are still impacting women

today.

Women account for forty percent of Japanese labor force but over half of them are part

time employees. In 2016, Japan ranked 111 out of 144 countries in a gender gap report published

by the World Economic Forum.11 Japan is performing poorly in gender equality compare to other

democratic countries. While there are efforts to reduce the gender gap in Japan, the country still

lags behind in progress compared to other developed countries. From 1990 to 2015, the number

10
Julie Makinen, “A Subculture of Entrepreneurship Hatches in Japan,” Los Angeles Times, March 29,
2015.
Mizuho Aoki, “Koike Vows to Get More Women to Run in Metro Election in July,” The Japan Times,
11

May 11, 2017.

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of regularly employed women in Japan dropped by 3.3 percent.12 With Japanese population

expected to shrink by 30 percent by 2060, improving women’s working conditions and closing

the gender gap would boost the country’s Growth Domestic Product. In 2013 the prime minister

of Japan unveiled a new strategy that enabled women to thrive which he referred to as

‘Womenomics.’13 Womenomics was created in 1999 by Kathy Kathy Matsui when she wrote her

womenomics report for Goldman Sachs while she was pregnant. She argued that the Japanese

economic stagnation could be solved better by increasing the number of women in the work

places instead of changing immigration laws or increasing the birthrate.14

In the early years of post-war period, women had far much less information about

parenting as they do today and about what their peers were doing to their children. It caused

women to push their children to their limits. A nationalized competitiveness in education called

Kyoiku Mama was created.15 Mothers became more focused in ensuring their children excelled

in school. The mothers soon came to realize that expecting too much and pushing their children

too far was harmful to them in the future when they worked long hours. Many women began to

shift their views on educating their children with many easing the pressure put on them. At the

same time, a new generation of unmarried women was being developed.

The young unmarried women with good careers are often negatively viewed in the

Japanese society. They were given the name “Makeinu” which means loser dogs. As explained

by Sakai Junko, the term meant being a single woman in her 30s without children. By writing her

book on makeinu, Sakai had hoped to raise awareness about the benefits of the working single

12
Kawaguchi Akira, “Japanese Women Face Tough Reality in Work and Marriage,” Nippon.com, last
modified August 20, 2015, https://www.nippon.com/en/in-depth/a04601/.
13
Mizuho Aoki, “Koike Vows to Get More Women to Run.”
14
Kathy Matsui, “Womenomics 4.0: Time to Walk the Talk,” Goldman Sachs, last modified July 16, 2014,
https://www.goldmansachs.com/insights/pages/womenomics4.0.html.
15
Marie Thorsten, Superhuman Japan: Knowledge, Nation and Culture in US-Japan Relations (London:
Routledge, 2016), 151.
 9

woman and convince the society to embrace them. She described the women as highly

fashionable and hard working. Makeinu is still used to criticize young and unmarried women in

their mid-twenties and thirties that have chosen work over raising a family. This way, women are

blamed for the reduced birthrates making them feel guilty for not getting married. Many of them

have joined or created non-profit organizations.

Compared to other developed countries like the United State, Japan has fewer non-profit

sectors. Women are known to play a dominant role in nonprofit sectors where they comprise of a

large number of the labor force.16 Non-Governmental Organizations (NGO’s) were non-existent

in Japan until 1998.The Kobe earthquake disaster of 1995 motivated the people of Japan to come

together and offer aid to the victims and address the poor government response. New legislations

allowed the creation of non-profit organizations that became more influential over time.17 the

legislation made the organizations more than just charity groups, rather they became companies

both non-profit and for profit. An example is re:terra founded by Sayaka Watanabe. After the

earthquake and tsunami of 2011, the organization formed a new project called Kesem Tsubaki

Dream Project which aimed at reviving the economy of local affected community by making

products using Camellia oil made from seeds found in the area. Majority of the workers are

women. Watanabe partnered with Enjoykai, a charity group comprised of female doctors to

develop hand cream made out of camellia oil.18 the non-profit organizations comprising mostly

women have sparked more organizations including private sectors to step in and push a change

in Japan.

Private sectors like Goldman Sachs have women projects that aim at educating and assist

Japanese women to set up their businesses. The companies have changed the culture and
16
Japan Center for International Exchange, “Common Ground and Common Obstacles.”
17
Matthew Hernon, “Charity in Japan Begins at Home.” The Japan Times, December 17, 2016.
18
Maya Kaneko, “Woman Taps Camellia to Nurture Tohoku Industries Back to Life” the Japan Times,
March 29, 2016.
 10

included women as a vital part of the working community. Many have realized for them to

achieve sustainable growth and stay competitive in the global market, they have to include

women in the key positions. Many companies have begun considering women as the key to

Japan’s economic growth. Inclusion of women enables the companies to achieve the goal of

Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR). CSR policies of workplace diversity allow the female

employees with career aspirations in Japan to take advantage and advance in their careers.19

women occupying high ranks in corporations and government act as role models for the young

and hungry women by showing them it is possible to achieve more when they continue working.

The post war period in Japan was a critical yet challenging time for Japanese women.

They challenged traditions which expected women to stay at home and take good care of their

children and raise responsible family while still upholding values that propelled them to be

successful. Women had difficulties to find decent jobs that paid well. They rubbed shoulders

with their male peers at work place; despite the diminishing positions, they held and rose to

prove that they are a key part in the economic development of Japan and its sustainability. Their

participation in non-profit organization has led to development areas affected by calamities and

natural disasters in the country. They have managed to take active responsibilities of their

families from managing wealth to educating children for a brighter future of the country. More

people in Japan are embracing women as the new government reforms and corporations push for

inclusivity of women in major roles in political, economic and social development.

19
Kato Takao and Kodama Naomi, “Corporate Social Responsibility and Gender Diversity in the
Workplace: Evidence from Japan,” Rieti, last modified April, 2016,
https://www.rieti.go.jp/jp/publications/dp/16e063.pdf.
 11

Bibliography

Akira Kawaguchi, “Japanese Women Face Tough Reality in Work and Marriage,” Nippon.com,

last modified August 20, 2015, https://www.nippon.com/en/in-depth/a04601/.

Aoki Mizuho, “Koike Vows to Get More Women to Run in Metro Election in July,” The Japan

Times, May 11, 2017.

Brinton, Mary C. Women and the economic miracle: Gender and work in postwar Japan. Vol.

21. Univ of California Press, 1993.

Fujioka Toru, “Japanese husbands' pocket money seen shrinking as mothers gain more respect

from kids,” The Japan Times, July 3, 2017.

Hernon Matthew, “Charity in Japan Begins at Home.” The Japan Times, December 17, 2016.

Japan Center for International Exchange, “Common Ground and Common Obstacles: US-Japan

Women Leaders Dialogue,” JCIE, last modified 2018,

https://www.jcie.org/analysis/books-reports/commonground/.

Kaneko Maya, “Woman Taps Camellia to Nurture Tohoku Industries Back to Life” the Japan

Times, March 29, 2016.

Makinen Julie, “A Subculture of Entrepreneurship Hatches in Japan,” Los Angeles Times, March

29, 2015.

Matsui Kathy, “Womenomics 4.0: Time to Walk the Talk,” Goldman Sachs, last modified July

16, 2014, https://www.goldmansachs.com/insights/pages/womenomics4.0.html.

Molony, Barbara. "Gendering modern Japanese history: A historiographical update." In The

Routledge Companion to Gender and Japanese Culture, pp. 11-21. Routledge, 2019.
 12

Ogasawara, Yuko. Office ladies and salaried men: Power, gender, and work in Japanese

companies, 11-23. Univ of California Press, 1998.

Takao Kato and Naomi Kodama, “Corporate Social Responsibility and Gender Diversity in the
Workplace: Evidence from Japan,” Rieti, last modified April, 2016,
https://www.rieti.go.jp/jp/publications/dp/16e063.pdf
Thorsten, Marie. Superhuman Japan: Knowledge, nation and culture in US-Japan relations, 151.
Routledge, 2012.
Vogel, Ezra F. Japan's New Middle Class: The Salary Man and His Family in a Tokyo Suburb,
Second edition,71-135.  Berkeley:  University of California Press, 2013.