The untapped potential of female workers can bring huge benefits to the workplace, research by Keio University found, boosting return on investment and productivity.

Women's working hours underscore gender disparity in Japan

Burden of overtime and job transfers dissuade women from full-time employment

YOHEI MATSUO and NAMI MATSUURA, Nikkei staff writers

January 20, 2022 11:00 JST

TOKYO -- A gender gap is still strongly discernible in Japan's working environment with a bipolarization of working hours among female workers, casting a new shadow over the slowing growth of the Japanese economy.

The participation of women in the Japanese workforce itself is increasing. The percentage of women in the 30 to 34 age bracket who are working or actively looking for work stood at 78% in 2020, up from 52% in 1990, according to a labor force survey by the Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications.