Business Daily — "Raising Japan’s Female Leaders"

BBC World Service | Host: Phoebe Amoroso | Air Date: November 5, 2025

Episode Overview

This episode explores Japan’s continuing struggle with gender equality, focusing on efforts to raise the number of female leaders in business, education, and politics. Host Phoebe Amoroso reports from Tokyo, meeting women entrepreneurs, educators, and politicians to discuss how barriers to female leadership are being challenged in a country still ranked among the lowest in gender equality among developed nations.

Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. The Gender Gap in Japan — Setting the Scene

• Japan consistently ranks low among developed countries for gender equality, placing 118th out of 148 economies in the 2025 World Economic Forum's Global Gender Gap Index.
• The government’s goal of 30% female leadership roles by 2020 has been postponed a decade.
• Despite increased female labor participation, women’s ascent to leadership remains sluggish; average female income is under 75% that of men.
• Quote [02:03 – 02:09]:
  “You know, half the time when I'm walking into parliament, I get stopped by the guards because they think I'm an intern or they think that I'm not an MP.”
  —Afia Eri, MP

2. Building a Community of Women Founders

• Phoebe visits “Herri Startup Event,” a collaboration between Shibuya Ward and Startup Lady, to hear from Japanese and non-Japanese female founders.

• Fundraising is repeatedly cited as a major challenge.

  • Female founder:
    “As VC capitalists, they tend to choose younger men because easy to control and also…they can be friends to each other easily… I challenged maybe like 40 VCs but not have been succeeded to get funds yet.” [03:21 — 03:52]

• Notably, there’s a visible lack of Japanese female founders compared to non-Japanese at the event, attributed to limited role models.

• Moeko Suzuki (president/co-founder, Startup Lady) stresses the need for “very, very safe” spaces for women, especially non-Japanese entrepreneurs:

  • “We just feared there's no organization like this. So that's when we started… we should create some safe space for women and also place for entrepreneurs.” [08:37 – 08:55]

3. Venture Capital & the Funding Gap

• Yumiko Murakami, co-founder of MPower (Japan’s first female-led VC fund), discusses the landscape:
  • “There are really, really interesting and good female founders or minority founders, but they may not get the same access to capital in the same way as male founders do...” [05:49 – 06:19]
• The Tokyo Metropolitan government supports the W Power Fund, which exclusively backs female founders and empowerment businesses.
• The close-knit, male-dominated VC industry breeds not just bias but safety concerns:
  • “There is this tendency of having a power, sort of unbalanced power structure...Unfortunately, there have been a number of sexual harassment incidents that have occurred...” [06:43 – 07:48]
• Female professionals in VC report incidents of sexual harassment and overall discomfort, driving the demand for safer, more inclusive ecosystems.

4. Gender Stereotypes in Education

• Japan has some of the world’s lowest rates of female students in STEM.

• Tokyo University, Japan’s most prestigious institution, has just 20% female undergrads.

• Prof. Kaori Hayashi (Executive VP, University of Tokyo):

  • The “U Tokyo Gender Equity Initiative” (2022) seeks to:
    1. Raise gender diversity awareness.
    2. Run programs to help young female scholars thrive in sciences.
    3. Increase female faculty from 16% (2022) to 25% (2027) via hiring subsidies.
  • “The progress we have made so far has been very incremental and gradual… at the moment, almost all the department heads talk about how they best hire women professors. …that’s a big change.” [12:32–13:19]

• The persistent challenge is the limited pool of female candidates, especially in STEM, and young women are still discouraged from applying.

5. Women in Politics — Barriers and Progress

• Afia Eri (MP, LDP; Parliamentary Vice Minister for Foreign Affairs): only 10.3% of lower house seats are held by women.

  • “One obvious answer is that because there are very few women in politics already, there are less people who are of your same gender who are doing this job. And so lack of role models, lack of precedence and lack of attunement refinement of our working culture to a more gender balanced representation and gender balanced life.” [15:37 – 16:02]

• Politics remains grueling: all-day work culture, little support for working mothers.

• Female representatives face more harassment and legitimacy challenges than male peers:

  • “Even to this day…half the time when I'm walking into parliament or walking to my own office, I get stopped by the guards because they think I'm an intern or…not an MP.” [16:19 – 16:58]

6. First Female Prime Minister — Symbolic Shift

• While the episode was recorded, the ruling LDP elected Sanae Takaichi as Japan’s first female prime minister.
  • Takaichi is conservative and appointed only two women to her cabinet, yet her elevation is seen as a symbolic step.
• Afia Eri is hopeful:
  • “We're all in agreement that we need more women…female participation is now encouraged and different stakeholders are now seeking, actively seeking a female representative.” [17:31 – 17:50]

7. The Changing Role of Young Women

• Sakura Toyama (University of Tokyo undergrad, Herri event attendee) aims to work in business and eventually address social issues through politics:
  • “My goal is to reduce those who is suffering from poverty or those who don't have any hope for their life because of the social system. This problem was the one I experienced during my childhood.” [18:26–18:40]
• Younger generations express the desire for more representation and aim to become future role models.

Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• On fundraising barriers:
  Female entrepreneur, on pitching to VCs:
  “I challenged maybe like 40 VCs but not have been succeeded to get funds yet.” [03:48]

• On lack of safe spaces:
  Moeko Suzuki, Startup Lady:
  “We should create some safe space for women and also place for entrepreneurs.” [08:55]

• On harassment and legitimacy:
  Afia Eri, MP:
  “Even to this day…half the time when I'm walking into parliament, I get stopped by the guards…” [16:19]

• On change in education:
  Prof. Kaori Hayashi:
  “10 years ago, we really can't talk about gender on this campus…now almost all department heads talk about how they best hire women professors.” [13:00–13:25]

• On symbolism of the first female PM:
  Phoebe Amoroso:
  “Some hope that a female leader will set a precedent and open the door for more women to enter politics.” [17:23]

Key Segment Timestamps

• [01:23] — Inequality in VC funding; overview of current barriers for female founders
• [03:16] — Female entrepreneur describes obstacles in fundraising
• [04:41] — Female labor participation spike; persistent pay gap
• [06:43] — Sexual harassment and safety concerns in VC/entrepreneurship
• [11:27] — Gender stereotypes in education; Tokyo University’s gender initiatives
• [12:32] — Prof. Hayashi on slow but steady changes in academia
• [15:05] — Afia Eri discusses politics, representation, and barriers
• [16:19] — Harassment and legitimacy challenges for female politicians
• [17:31] — Discussion of Japan's first female prime minister
• [18:20] — Young Japanese women aspiring for leadership roles

Conclusion

Despite incremental progress, Japan continues to struggle with deep-rooted barriers to female leadership across business, education, and politics. The launch of women-focused communities, supportive university policy changes, and the arrival of a female prime minister offer flashes of hope. However, the consensus from all guests: Japan needs more visible female role models, safer work environments, and systemic reform to fully realize gender equality. This episode captures the challenges, the slow cultural shift, and the optimism of women determined to lead Japan forward.