News On Japan

Japan Near Bottom in "Glass Ceiling Index"

TOKYO - The British "Economist" magazine's "glass-ceiling index" was released on March 8th to mark International Women’s Day, ranking Japan 27th, third from the bottom, among OECD countries.

Japan improved its ranking by one position from the previous year but still came in 27th out of 29 countries.

The index combines data on higher education, labor-force participation, pay, child cares costs, maternity and paternity rights, business-school applications, and representation in senior jobs.

The Economist pointed out that only 15% of managerial positions in corporations are occupied by women, and the proportion of female parliamentarians is low. It analyzed that women in Japan "still face the biggest obstacles in the workplace."

Iceland topped the ranking, with Sweden in second place, and other Nordic countries also dominating the top spots.

Source: FNN

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Raccoons are increasingly invading homes across Japan, damaging roofs and wiring, contaminating buildings with large amounts of urine and feces, and raising concerns over agriculture, native wildlife and the spread of disease as their population continues to expand.

Nagasaki marked the 81st anniversary of the U.S. atomic bombing on August 9 with a memorial ceremony near the hypocenter, where Mayor Shiro Suzuki declared nuclear weapons an "absolute evil" and called on the Japanese government to uphold its Three Non-Nuclear Principles.

Transport services were gradually returning to normal on August 9 after Typhoon No. 13 caused widespread cancellations and shutdowns across Okinawa, although air travel remained disrupted as airlines worked to restore schedules and accommodate passengers stranded during the opening days of Japan's busy Obon holiday period.

Typhoon No. 13 was moving slowly west on the night of August 8 and was expected to approach the Chinese mainland by the night of August 9, but Okinawa, Amami and parts of southern Kyushu remained at risk from strong winds, intermittent heavy rain and dangerous seas even as the storm's center moved farther away.

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