April 7, 2026

Akahata editorial (excerpts)

It has been 40 years since the Equal Employment Opportunity Law that bans workplace gender discrimination was implemented in April 1986.

The business circles and large corporations have sought to keep using women as cheap labor while simultaneously forcing them to maintain their traditional role of also taking care of domestic duties.

In line with this intent, they have advocated the abolition of the rules to protect women workers, including limitations on overtime work and the banning of midnight work, by saying, “If women demand equal treatment at work, they need to choose between protection and equality, and accept the same long working hours as men.” Business leaders have claimed that the aim of the equal opportunity law should be to ensure “equality of opportunity”, not “equality of outcomes”.

As a result, the law has remained largely ineffective, lacking measures to impose penalties. This has forced women to work long hours. Those who find it difficult to do so due to family obligations have no choice but to work in non-regular employment positions.

The equal opportunity law has been revised several times. However, the dual-track employment system (non-career track and career track) and other forms of “indirect discrimination” against women persist. The law is useless in eliminating gender discrimination as it includes no provisions in this regard, such as a ban on harassment, sufficient systems to deal with discrimination and disputes, and penalties for violations.

Even now, female workers earn 70% of male workers’ wages when averaged out. The so-called “mommy track” which limits working mothers’ career growth and promotions is a serious issue. The proportion of female workers in managerial positions stays at around 10%. Many women have experienced being plagued by sexual harassment not only during their job-hunting process, but also after they start working. Furthermore, when they report the issue to their company, it often happens that their complaints are swept under the rug and that complainants are subjected to disadvantages and further discrimination.

The UN Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women (CEDAW) has recommended that Japan take concrete action to achieve gender equality. The Japanese government, on the occasion of the 40th anniversary of the equal opportunity law, should enact legislation that helps realize gender equality in the workplace.

The Japanese Communist Party has demanded the establishment of a legal framework that works to achieve gender equality in employment by such means as reducing gender disparities in wages and promotions based on the “equal pay for equal work” principle and prohibiting sexual harassment and other types of gender-based harassment.