The European Commissioner for Jobs and Social Rights said Japan's gender gap is similar to what it used to be like in Europe decades ago, but that the continent and the East Asian nation can learn from each other and advance women's empowerment.
Nicolas Schmit also said in a recent interview with Kyodo News he was satisfied with the Group of Seven labor ministers' statement from their meeting, held over the past weekend in Japan, for mentioning the importance of issues such as equal pay and labor equality between men and women.
Japan consistently ranks low in gender surveys by international organizations like the World Bank, trailing behind other G-7 nations.
Schmit was in Japan to attend the two-day meeting through Sunday in Kurashiki, Okayama Prefecture, along with his counterparts from Britain, Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan and the United States.
"We wanted clear, solid and strong statements, which I think more or less we got on equal pay and on better integration of women in the labor markets," he said.
The commissioner said there was no real resistance to the statement from Japan, the meeting's chair, which he attributed to "a strong awareness on the Japanese side that something has to be done."
Schmit said that if one looks back at Europe 20 or 30 years ago, it was "not so far from the Japanese situation in many countries" concerning gender issues like childcare and labor participation.
Europe has worked toward, but has not yet achieved, perfect gender equality among its diverse countries, he said, something that will require continuous effort.
"It is an issue where we can cooperate, learn from each other and make progress together," he said.
He said achieving the goal will be difficult, and will involve various changes, including cultural shifts, structural reforms, investments in childcare and better working hours for men and women.
Japan ranked 104th among 190 countries and territories in the World Bank's March report on economic opportunities for women.
It also placed 116th among 146 countries in the gender gap rankings compiled by the World Economic Forum in July, sitting at the bottom of the East Asia and Pacific group.
Related coverage:
Half of unmarried people under 30 in Japan do not want kids: survey
Japan remains 2nd worst in int'l ranking for women in workforce
Japan drops to 104th in gender disparity rank in World Bank survey
