The government adopted Wednesday a set of policies aimed toward promoting the empowerment of women in business and politics and helping single mothers secure child support from their former husbands.
The policies stated that accelerating efforts to further increase the number of women in the boardroom and political arena is a "matter of urgency" as female presence in those areas has remained persistently low.
Last year, Japan ranked 121st among 153 countries in the World Economic Forum's gender-gap rankings, slipping from 110th the previous year and in last place among major advanced economies.