Any employer that has filed an action plan under the Act on Promotion of Women's Participation and Advancement in the Workplace can apply to its prefectural labour bureau for eruboshi. The name plays on the letter L, for lady, labour and leadership, and the Japanese word for star.
Applicants are judged on five criteria: recruitment (women are hired on equal competitive terms, or at least at the industry average share), continued employment (women's average tenure compared with men's), working hours (average overtime and holiday work below 45 hours a month), management (the share of women managers at or above the industry average), and diverse career paths, such as conversions from non-regular to regular employment or mid-career hiring of women. Meeting one or two criteria earns level one, three or four earns level two, and all five earns level three. Platinum Eruboshi, created in 2020, requires higher standards across all five plus delivery of action plan targets and wider disclosure.
The amended Act that took effect on 1 April 2026 made two changes. It eased level one, so an employer can qualify by showing a sustained improvement trend over three-year averages rather than only consecutive annual gains. And it created Eruboshi Plus, a supplementary mark for employers that also provide leave or flexible work for women's health needs such as menopause and fertility treatment, run training and appoint a named contact for consultations. Published counts put certified employers at around 3,800 in late 2025, with fewer than 100 at Platinum level.
What it means for a foreign employer
- It is a recruiting signal, especially for women. The mark can be used in job adverts and on business cards, and candidates use it to filter employers.
- You are already doing much of the work. If your Japan entity has 101 or more employees it must file an action plan anyway; certification adds an application, not a new programme.
- It has commercial value. Certified employers receive extra points in many central government procurement evaluations.
- Check level three before you claim it. The overtime and tenure criteria trip up sales-heavy subsidiaries that look strong on women in management.
Sources
- Act on Promotion of Women's Participation and Advancement in the Workplace, as amended by Act No. 63 of 2025, in force 1 April 2026.
- Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare, eruboshi certification criteria and 2026 revisions; JILPT forum briefing, February 2026.