At an international conference focusing on women, Prime Minister Shinzo Abe on Friday renewed his pledge to promote the status of women in society.
Speaking to an audience of about 1,000 people attending the World Assembly for Women in Tokyo, Abe vowed to address the challenges that hamper their active participation.
"'To create a society where women can shine' has been consistently one of the high-priority issues since my administration was launched in December two years ago," he said.