Abstract
For the purpose of realizing gender equality in the society, Japanese governments have established various legislation and institution since the 1990s. However, people do not seem to feel that gender equality has come to fruition. This paper aims to clarify the reasons for the gap between legislation and its outcome by linking the political process for promoting gender equality to the changes in the Japanese political structure. For that purpose, this paper analyzes women’s advancement policies adopted by the current Abe Shinzo cabinet as a case study. This paper argues that the structural changes in Japanese politics have simultaneously promoted centralization, decentralization, and outsourcing in making and implementing gender equality policies. As a result, it is expected that, first, the prime minister and his/her cabinet have stronger power on decision making about the outline of gender equality policies. Second, the local politics become more important because differences among local governments are expanding in planning and implementing policies. Third, outsourcing may lead to “de-politicization,” in which policy implementation is based on the market principle, rather than the realization of equal rights or government’s responsibility. In addition, policy output could be affected much by which organization is running gender equality programs on the ground.
