Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, who took office in 2012, has promoted the message of letting “women shine,” and he rightly boasts that Japan’s female labor force participation rate has now risen above that in the United States. However, at just under 70 percent of women ages 15 to 64, that rate nevertheless remains below levels in Europe and Canada (75 to 80 percent), and is far below the participation rate of 85 percent for Japanese males.
"Far below the participation rate ... for males" is easy enough to fix. Put guys out of work and on the dole. That will improve the ratio straight away because as pundits like BE seem to forget ratios have a numerator and a denominator. You can make the ratio "better" either by increasing the numerator or decreasing the denominator. Both approaches will yield the same numerical result.
On any measure of gender equality, Japan fares abysmally in comparison with other advanced democratic countries. It ranks 110th in the World Economic Forum’s Gender Gap Index, flanked by Mauritius and Belize.
Indeed. Japan has a very long way to go if it wants to get into the top ten and rub shoulders with the likes of Nicaragua (5th) and Rwanda (6th), but even Emmott's own Britain has some work to do. It does not make even to 10th rank, currently held by Namibia.
Similarly the US is sandwiched between Mexico and Peru, well below the likes of Zimbabwe and Uganda.
I suppose it would be churlish to point out that the claim "On any measure of gender equality, Japan fares abysmally in comparison with other advanced democratic countries" is complete BS. Japan actually scores rather well on Georgetown Index.
But, as I always say, "When it comes to Japan, never let facts stand in the way of what you want to write."
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