Current Situations and Future Perspectives on Female Researchers in Japan

Abstract

　The percentage of female researchers in Japan is just 13.0%, which is very low with comparison to those of European countries and the United States. Thus, “the 3rd Science and Technology Basic Plan” (Cabinet Decision, March, 2006) expanded its description on policies for supporting female researchers, and authorized funding for them from FY2006 for the first time in the history of the governmental budget. The budget seemed to remarkably and steadily increase from 666 million yen (FY2006), 1.1 billion yen (FY2007) to 1.8 billion yen (FY2008). This paper analyses the current situations of female researchers and the governmental policies for supporting them. It also studies the policy items and their budget amount to clarify the agenda and necessary measures in order to promote gender equality in the field of science and technology in Japan.