The current misuse or underuse of female talent is a widespread problem in countries around the world, developed and developing economies alike. It is particularly salient in Japan, even though the government often announces its support for the promotion of greater numbers of women in positions of authority in governmental offices and businesses, and politicians regularly highlight their desire to see men and women get equal pay for equal work. The recently published Global Gender Gap Index 2015 by the World Economic Forum listed Japan in 101st position, out of 145 countries surveyed.
Obviously, women are as intellectually and emotionally able to hold positions of high managerial responsibility as men. And research suggests that women can actually be better at making managerial decisions than men. At the university level, female students tend to score higher in both intellectual and emotional capabilities and/or exhibit a wider range of cognitive and emotional responses to stimuli, making them better prepared to address the challenges associated with making critical decisions that engage the well-being of large numbers of stakeholders. Only rigid social structures and traditional (read patriarchal) corporate cultures forbid women from climbing the hierarchical ladder.
Of course, there is evidence of successful women in various parts of Japan's economic and political worlds. But this remains the exception rather than the norm. Women in managerial positions should be a common sight, not a token occurrence, in Japanese offices. To illustrate what Japan could gain from this, here is an example I directly encountered a few years ago.