A job half-done for Japan's working women

ABENOMICS - Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe's economic revitalisation programme - has been taking a beating in the media lately. This is a result of Japan's recent run of disappointing growth figures, even if this is mostly just the spillover from a slowing China. More generally, Mr Abe is suffering at the polls because of political issues, mostly related to his attempts to allow a more assertive posture for the country's military. But these struggles have obscured a big shift in the country's economic and social fabric that will be transformative in the long run: Record numbers of Japanese women are going to work.

For decades, Japan stood out as one of the only rich countries that kept a substantial number of its women - including highly educated, talented women - in the home instead of allowing them to work. That has changed dramatically. After hitting a low in 1975, Japanese working-age female labour force participation has been rising, and has surged to all-time highs since Mr Abe took office: But women are not displacing men. In fact, by the headline numbers, Japan's labour market is looking remarkably robust. The overall Japanese labour market remains extremely tight - there are more than 1.19 job openings per applicant, the highest rate in more than two decades. Call this one a win for Abenomics. But the real hero in this story is Kathy Matsui of Goldman Sachs.

Although Ms Matsui is an investment banker - she is Goldman's chief equity strategist for Japan, among other titles - she has made history as a tireless advocate for change in Japan's policies towards women. Again and again, Ms Matsui has hammered home a single point: Closing Japan's gender gap will boost growth. In 2014, Ms Matsui estimated that raising female labour force participation to the same level as male participation would boost Japan's gross domestic product by an impressive 13 per cent. At least a portion of Ms Matsui's wish is coming true. Women are going to work en masse. This is no doubt in part thanks to the tight labour market, and to Japan's rapid ageing. It is also probably due to Mr Abe's aggressive programme of government-supported child care (something the US should think about copying). But I wouldn't be surprised if some of it were simply a shift in cultural norms. Rhetoric is powerful, especially in Japan where - due to the relative lack of organised religions, racial minorities and powerful unions - the government is the primary source of ideas and opinions. Mr Abe has repeatedly emphasised the idea that women have a vital role in the workplace. That kind of moral suasion has real power in a country that has never had a robust feminist movement. Ten years ago, when I lived in Japan, I was astonished to hear female students at top universities tell me that their ambition in life was to be a housewife. When I told them that highly educated foreign women often aspire to a career, the typical response was that foreign women simply did things differently. With no feminist movement to challenge traditional gender roles, Japan was stuck with a tradition that held it back economically. So I suspect that by declaring that tradition to be a thing of the past, Mr Abe is having a bigger effect than sceptics realise. But that doesn't mean the work is done - far from it.