PUBLICATIONS & REPORTS

Contents Introduction

Based on the census data from 1980 to 2015, this paper investigates the female employment rate by age groups in 47 prefectures and 20 major cities (government ordinance-designated cities) in Japan. The analysis results show that the employment rate of Japanese women has increased significantly in the past 35 years. However, compared with other prefectures/cities, the female employment rates are relatively low in prefectures of the three metropolitan areas as well as in a few major manufacturing cities of local areas. Especially, in the age group between 25 and 39 years old, these regional characteristics are most outstanding. Therefore, in order to raise the employment rate of women for alleviating the labor shortage in Japan, the whole society must support the family activities (childbearing and child-rearing) of women between the ages of 25 and 39, particularly those working in metropolitan areas and major cities of local areas. Otherwise, the further increase of female employment rate will lead to the decline of female marriage rate and birth rate, and then the further decrease of Japan's future working population.