Dinamics of Women’s Role in Socioeconomic and Political Spheres in Japan in 1980-2010

In recent years, there has been a significant increase in scholarly interest in feminist movements and history of female emancipation all over the world. The Japanese model of female emancipation is of concern, since formally Japanese women were given equal rights with men by introduction of the new Constitution on May 3rd, 1947. In fact, the process of acquiring equal rights by Japanese women is still not finished. In the framework of female emancipation in Japan, the last 4 decades (1980-2010) deserve a particular interest. By the beginning of this period, large-scale reforms aimed at increasing the status of Japanese women have already been carried out. Hidden gender discrimination in all life spheres has become the main problem of Japanese women. Ways of combating hidden discrimination of Japanese women in socioeconomic and political spheres, as well as their current results, will be discussed in this study.