Self-Introduction / Overview of Duties
Since the “Gender and Transport Seminar” in July 2024, the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism (MLIT) has been holding roundtable meetings with female staff and hosting discussions led by Regional Transport Bureau Directors to exchange views and share information on past initiatives. In fiscal year 2025, we established the Inclusive Society Policy Division within the Policy Bureau, creating a framework that can address gender mainstreaming policies alongside our existing barrier-free (accessibility) policies. We also launched a Gender Mainstreaming Promotion Headquarters headed by the Minister, and the ministry as a whole is working to advance these efforts.
I have been serving as the inaugural Gender Policy Promotion Officer since July 2025. “Gender” can be a term that is easily misunderstood; I myself didn’t fully grasp it at first. “Gender mainstreaming” is also a difficult phrase, but put simply, it is a movement to gather opinions from men and women on an equal footing and work together to make society better. Environmental issues, too, were a low-salience topic a few decades ago, but today they are widely recognized as something we must naturally take into account. Our division’s efforts to promote barrier-free transportation have also spread over time. I believe gender should be advanced in the same gradual way.
Personal Impressions
I joined MLIT mid-career and have worked in multiple organizations, and I feel there is relatively little difference between men and women in the workplace here. Perhaps this has changed with the times, but conditions such as pay, job rotation, and transfers are broadly equal. By contrast, at the private company I joined as a new graduate about 20 years ago, the clerical track without transfers was staffed only by women, and tasks like serving tea and cleaning the kitchenette were seen as women’s responsibilities.
I believe things have changed since then, but there was undeniably a culture at the time that took those practices for granted. The fact that many people have lived through that era is something we need to be mindful of when advancing policy. Of course, even among men and even among women, people’s views differ.
Message
Gender mainstreaming at MLIT has only just begun. As noted above, it needs to be expanded step by step. I also feel it is important to share information through channels like this website. The term “gender mainstreaming” may sound difficult, but I intend to keep striving to communicate it clearly in plain, accessible language.