Gender perspectives should be “mainstreamed” in government and business decision-making in every field, be it environment, energy, finance or security, participants in a high-profile international women’s conference in Tokyo said Saturday.

At the World Assembly for Women (WAW!) 2022, organized by the Japanese government, Prime Minister Fumio Kishida stressed the importance of putting issues faced by women at the top of policy agendas, especially now, when the climate crisis, the COVID-19 pandemic and the war in Ukraine have taken a particularly tough toll on them.

“During the coronavirus pandemic, we have heard reports of increased violence against women in many countries, to the extent that it’s now called ‘the shadow pandemic,’’’ Kishida said in his opening speech.