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Japan ranks 118th out of 148 countries in gender gap report
Japan ranked 118th out of 148 countries in the World Economic Forum's (WEF) 2025 Global Gender Gap Report, maintaining the same position as last year — the lowest among Group of Seven countries.
The Swiss think tank's annual report, released Thursday, evaluates gender parity across four categories: education, health, political empowerment and economic participation. Complete equality between men and women would be recorded as a 100% score.
Japan's overall mark was 66.6%, up slightly from 66.3% from the previous year, but still below the global average of 68.8%.
Japan recorded its strongest gains in economic participation, where its score climbed to 61.3% from 56.8% in 2024. The WEF looked into five areas within that category, with the rise driven by a slight increase in female labor force participation (from 54.8% to 55.6%).
A higher share of women in leadership roles such as legislators, senior officials and managers (from 14.6% to 16.1%), and improved parity in estimated earned income (59.2%, up from 58.3%) also pushed up the score for the category. Japan still only ranked 112th overall in the category, however.
Educational attainment and health scores remain areas of near gender parity, with little change from the previous year at 99% and 97%, or 66th and 50th respectively, for the category scores.
Political empowerment is still by far Japan's weakest category. The country's score in this area dropped to 8.5%, down from 11.8% last year, reflecting a decline in female representation at the highest levels of government.
Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba's Cabinet, reshuffled in November, includes just two female ministers — down from five in the previous administration of Prime Minister Fumio Kishida. Although the most recent Lower House election last October saw a record number of women elected, they still account for only 15.7% of Lower House lawmakers.
'Japan's efforts toward gender equality remain behind those of other countries, and we must take this result seriously and humbly,' Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshimasa Hayashi said in a news conference Thursday.
A Cabinet Office survey conducted last year of local assembly members revealed that women in politics face a myriad of challenges balancing their legislative responsibilities with family life, harassment and entrenched gender stereotypes.
'Gender equality in politics is essential to ensuring that diverse perspectives are reflected in governance, and we remain committed to advancing these efforts,' he said, adding that the government is promoting anti-harassment training and taking steps to improve child care and eldercare support in government workplaces.
Globally, political empowerment continues to be the greatest obstacle to gender parity, with an average achievement rate of just 22.9%, according to the WEF. At the current rate of progress, the organization estimates it will take 123 years to achieve full gender parity worldwide.
Iceland retained the top spot in the global rankings for the 16th consecutive year, with a gender equality score of 92.6%. Finland and Norway followed, scoring 87.9% and 86.3%, respectively. Pakistan ranked last with 56.7%. The United States placed 42nd (75.6%), while South Korea (101st, 68.7%) and China (103rd, 68.6%) both ranked ahead of Japan.
