Tokyo, 4 December, /AJMEDIA/
Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida said Saturday he will include more women’s perspectives in policymaking to help enrich the lives of all people in society, while voicing concern over increased violence against women following the coronavirus pandemic and Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.
At an international conference held in Tokyo, aimed at promoting gender equality and women’s empowerment, Kishida said, “Social disparities remain an issue.”
The conference was attended by world leaders and delegates including Iceland’s President Gudni Johannesson, whose country has topped the World Economic Forum’s gender gap index, Moldova’s President Maia Sandu and U.N. Women Executive Director Sima Bahous.
“In order to realize a society in which everyone can live a vibrant life, it is essential to reflect women’s perspectives in policies and systems,” Kishida said at the World Assembly for Women, the first held since March 2019 due to the impact of the pandemic.
Kishida said gender inequality and violence against women have worsened in the past few years, noting that they make up the majority of essential health care and nursing workers, who have been forced to work overtime during the pandemic though being at a high risk of infection.
Also touching on the war in Ukraine, he said, “There are reports of sexual violence against women and countless other barbaric acts committed by Russian soldiers.”
Kishida, who is hoping to make use of the results of the assembly when he hosts a Group of Seven summit in Hiroshima in May next year, added that women’s independence lies at the heart of his flagship “new capitalism” policy that focuses on economic growth and wealth distribution.
Among other female delegates, New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern, former U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton and award-winning American actress Anne Hathaway, who serves as U.N. Women goodwill ambassador, delivered messages virtually at the assembly, the sixth since the Japanese government first organized in 2014.
