Seiko Noda, head of the Liberal Democratic Party's decision-making General Council, said Sunday it is necessary to introduce legally binding numerical targets to promote the social advancement of women.
"It will be impossible to create a stage for women without introducing a compulsory quota system or other frameworks," she said on a Fuji Television program. She said women could be more active in society if it becomes a common for companies to allow them to continue working after they get married and have children.
But on the same TV program, LDP policy chief Sanae Takaichi offered a more cautious view, saying the introduction of a legally binding quota system will hit personnel systems and "some say it will lead to reverse discrimination."
Takaichi, a conservative, is the LDP's first female policy chief.