Labor force participation rate Japan 1973-2023, by gender

In 2023, around 71.4 percent of the male population and 54.8 percent of the female population in Japan were in the workforce nationally. The labor force participation rate among women reached the highest share since 1973. 

Female employment rate

Japan’s employment rate, the share of people who are employed among the total population aged 15 years and above, rose to 61.2 percent in the same year. Since the employment rate of men declined, it was a higher share of women in employment that contributed to the overall increase in the employment rate in 2023. Despite the female employment rate reaching an all-time high, a significantly larger share of women, over half of female employees, were in non-regular employment, such as part-time and temporary work. Distinctive work patterns of women shaped by Japan’s labor market and corporate culture are one of the reasons for its gender gap when it comes to equal economic participation.

Women’s work patterns

One of these work patterns is the M-shaped curve of female labor participation. The curve reflects the trend that female labor force participation peaks in the age group of 25 to 29-year-olds and then falls, as women drop out of the workforce upon life events such as marriage and childbirth, only to reenter the workforce at a later stage. This curve has gradually flattened in recent years, as fewer women left the workforce in their thirties. However, the so-called L-shaped curve of women in regular employment suggests that instead, fewer women stay in regular employment. The percentage of women working in regular full-time jobs peaks in the age bracket of 25 to 29-year-olds and then declines steadily. This makes women less likely to enter leadership positions.