Reinventing Japan: The Way Forward through Women’s Empowerment

PSU Center For Japanese Studies presents

Aiko Doden

“Women’s empowerment is essential for achieving sustainable and inclusive economic growth”— this was the shared understanding at the recent G20 Osaka Summit held in Japan. In fact women’s empowerment and gender equality was one of the key summit agenda items, yet only two of the global leaders represented at the event were women. Although Prime Minister Abe has made putting more women into leadership positions as a focal point of his growth strategy by “creating a society where women shine,” only one of the Japanese cabinet ministers is a woman.

The Japanese Government claims Japan has made some positive progress in promoting gender equality, but the country lags behind at 110th out of 149 countries in Global Gender Gap Report 2018. Ms. Doden’s presentation will evaluate what is meant by “progress,” examine what changes can be observed in society, discuss what challenges and obstacles still stand in the way, and argue that “creating a society where women shine” is not just about women, but about both men and women, and about reinventing Japan.

Aiko DODEN is Special Affairs Commentator on international affairs and Senior Director at NHK World TV. Concurrently she presents “Newsline In Depth,” a feature segment on NHK World News. She has expertise in reporting on a wide range of global issues from hard security to human security. As commentator she covers Southeast Asia, Japan-U.S. relations and Japan’s Foreign Policy. Ms. Doden comments on developmental affairs with a focus on sustainable growth, global health, gender and education. She is a popular face on TV, having anchored key news program as “NHK News at 9 PM,” “NHK World Network,” and “NHK Asian Voices.” She was previously a correspondent based in Thailand covering ASEAN countries extensively.

Her interviewees include the Nobel Laureates Malala Yousafzai, Professor Muhammad Yunus, Bill Gates, former UNHCR Antonio Guterres, UNFPA Executive Director Natalia Kanem, former Myanmar Prime Minister Thein Sein, Thai Interim Prime Minister Prayuth Chan-o-cha, and, most recently, a Japanese Magsaysay Award Recipient Dr. Yoshiaki Ishizawa for his achievement in restoring Angkor Wat and empowering the youths of Cambodia.

Ms. Doden was listed “Japan: Women of Influence 2017” in Asia Unbound blog, Council on Foreign Relations https://www.cfr.org/blog/japan-women-influence. She holds an MA in international affairs from Columbia University, and a BA in foreign studies from Sophia University, Japan. She spent her childhood in London, UK.