Japan's gender equality may be 'insufficent,' but it's surely coming

As the vast majority of societies worldwide are male dominated, one of the most contentious issues they face as they evolve centers on the status of women.

The United Nations has been working to improve the educational, social, economic and political rights of the world's women since the establishment, in 1946, of its Commission on the Status of Women, and its powerful Declaration on the Elimination of Discrimination Against Women, which dates from 1967.

But in August, a report on gender equality in Japan from the U.N. Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination Against Women (CEDAW) found "little progress in the past six years." Consequently, CEDAW has set a two-year limit on Japan to address matters relating to gender discrimination.