For disclosure purposes a manager means someone at kacho level or above: a section manager, a department head or equivalent, excluding directors and officers. The test is the role, meaning responsibility for an organisational unit or equivalent authority, not the title on the business card. The ratio is women in those positions divided by all people in them.
Until 2026 it was one optional item among many that employers could choose to publish under the Women's Advancement Act, and it appeared in annual securities reports only where the filer already published it under that Act. The amended Act in force from 1 April 2026 makes it mandatory for every employer with 101 or more employees, alongside the gender pay gap. Employers with 301 or more must publish two further items on top; those with 101 to 300, one. The first disclosure for a March year-end company covers the year to March 2027.
The national figures come from the Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare's Basic Survey on Equal Employment. As of 1 October 2025, women held 9.2% of department head posts, 13.2% of section manager posts and 20.9% of the team leader level below. Separately, the government's target for women among officers of Prime Market companies is 30% by 2030; a Keidanren survey put it at 18.4% in July 2025, just short of the interim 19% goal.
What it means for a foreign employer
- Your number will be public. If your Japan entity has more than 100 employees, the ratio appears alongside the pay gap from 2027 for most March year-end companies. Prepare the explanation now.
- Title inflation will not help. Gaishi often give manager titles to individual contributors. Disclosure follows the substance of the role, so check how your titles map before you calculate.
- Senior women are scarce and heavily recruited. With women in roughly one in eight section manager roles nationally, a female candidate at director level in Japan is in demand from every employer under disclosure pressure. Expect counteroffers and price accordingly.
- The pipeline matters more than the headline. Women at team leader level are the realistic source for promotion. Sponsorship and visible first promotions do more than targets set by headquarters.
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, Basic Survey on Equal Employment, fiscal 2025, published 31 July 2026.
- Keidanren survey on women officers at Prime Market companies, July 2025 (reported by Jiji Press and Nikkei).