Due to an aging population and education gaps in the workforce, as of 2015, Japan has faced

由於人口老齡化和勞動力的教育差距，截至2015年，日本已經面臨著

its second recession in two years.

其兩年來的第二次衰退。

As a method of bolstering the economy Prime Minister Shinzo Abe has proposed increasing

作為提振經濟的方法，首相安倍晉三提出了增加

the role of women in its male-dominated and shrinking workforce.

婦女在男性占主導地位和不斷萎縮的勞動力中的作用；

But women have long dealt with a traditionalist society where they are expected to grow a

但長期以來，女性一直與傳統主義社會打交道，在這個社會里，她們被要求長出一副好皮囊。

family instead of entering the workforce.

家庭而不是參加工作。

In that light, what is life really like for women in Japan?

如此看來，日本女性的生活到底是怎樣的呢？

Well, Japan’s economy is built on its ‘salary-man’ culture, where workers are expected to put

日本的經濟是建立在其 "薪資-人 "文化上的，在那裡，工人們被期望把

in 80 hour a week in white collar jobs.

在每週80小時的白領工作中。

Meanwhile, career-aspiring women often end up with very little upward mobility.

同時，有事業心的女性往往最終上升空間很小。

In Japan, women hold less than ten percent of leadership roles in small businesses.

在日本，婦女在小企業中擔任領導職務的比例不到10%。

In 2014, the government offered a financial incentive to companies that placed women in

2014年，政府向安置婦女的公司提供財政獎勵。

more senior positions.

更高級別的職位。

But much of the money was returned -- unused.

但大部分錢都被退回了 -- -- 沒有使用。

In 2014, only about 66 percent of Japanese women were in the workforce -- six percent

2014年，只有約66%的日本婦女在工作崗位上--6%

more than 2010 – but it’s a number still far below the 80 percent of Japanese men who

比2010年更多--但這一數字仍遠低於80%的日本男性。

are employed.

被僱用。

And nearly 60 percent of those working women aren’t even in full-time positions while

而在這些職業女性中，有近60%的人甚至沒有擔任全職職務，而。

80 percent of working men are full-time.

80%的工作男性為全職。

Life outside the workplace isn’t much easier for women, as much of their time is spent

工作之外的生活對女性來說並不輕鬆，因為她們的大部分時間都是在工作中度過的

raising children and caretaking, dictated by a society that sees household obligations

撫養孩子和照顧孩子，這是由社會上的家庭義務所決定的。

as a woman’s domain.

作為女人的領域。

A 2014 survey released by the OECD found that Japanese men do the least amount of “unpaid

經合組織2014年發佈的一項調查發現，日本男性做的 "無償 "工作最少。

work” or chores around the house, compared to most developed countries.

工作 "或家務事，與大多數發達國家相比。

In Japanese society, it’s not about how feasible a work-life balance is, but rather

在日本社會，工作與生活的平衡並不在於可行性如何，而在於

the social appropriateness of raising children while maintaining a full-time job.

在從事全職工作的同時撫養子女的社會適宜性；

One of the biggest reasons that women feel forced to stay home is an extreme lack of

婦女感到被迫呆在家裡的最大原因之一是極度缺乏對家庭的關愛。

childcare resources, so much so that there is even a Japanese word for it.

育兒資源，以至於連日語都有一個詞來形容它。

Although this problem is decades old in Japan, statistics from 2015 show that roughly 23,000

雖然這個問題在日本已經有幾十年的歷史了，但從2015年的統計數據來看，大約有23000名

Japanese children are on waiting lists for day care.

日本的孩子們都在等待日託的名單上。

Many argue that gender equality will not change until more women are in positions of power.

許多人認為，除非有更多的婦女擔任權力職位，否則性別平等不會改變。

But Japan has a long way to go as only 3.5% of senior government jobs are currently held

但日本目前只有3.5%的政府高級職位，還有很長的路要走。

by women.

由婦女擔任。

According to the Inter-Parliamentary Union, with only 10% of Japanese Parliament, the

根據各國議會聯盟的統計，日本議會中只有10%的人，。

number of female lawmakers even falls below that of both Saudi Arabia and South Sudan.

女性立法者的人數甚至低於沙特阿拉伯和南蘇丹。

But things do seem to be slowly changing, in 2016 Tokyo elected its first female mayor.

但事情似乎確實在慢慢改變，2016年東京選出了第一位女市長。

One labor economist noted that the Prime Minister’s plan was the first time a Japanese leader

一位勞動經濟學家指出，首相的計劃是日本領導人第一次。

presented the idea of working women being beneficial to economic growth.

提出了勞動婦女有利於經濟增長的觀點。

Abe’s so-called “womenomics” movement includes a pledge to open more slots in daycare

安倍所謂的 "婦女運動 "包括承諾開放更多的託兒所名額。

facilities by 2018 and already requires firms to disclose the percentage of female employees

到2018年，並已要求企業披露女性僱員的比例。

and their plans to support them.

以及他們的支持計劃。

Goldman Sachs estimates that closing the gender employment gap would lift the country’s

高盛估計，縮小性別就業差距將提升該國的。

GDP by nearly 13 percent, adding around 7.1 million employees to the workforce.

GDP增長了近13%，增加了約710萬名員工。

But Japan’s female employment rate is still below the average of working women in many

但日本女性就業率仍低於很多國家職業女性的平均水平。

other developed countries.

其他發達國家。

For Japan -- a country of strong traditional gender roles -- true equality for women in

對於日本這個傳統性別角色強烈的國家來說，婦女在以下方面的真正平等：

the workplace, in politics and in society remains to be seen.

在工作場所、政治和社會中的作用還有待觀察。

If you're a fan of history, science and exploration, you should definitely check out Discovery

如果你是一個歷史、科學和探索的愛好者，你一定要去看看Discovery。

Go where you can watch all your favorite Discovery Channel shows in one place.

在這裡，您可以在一個地方觀看所有您喜愛的探索頻道節目。

Click the link in the description below to learn more.

點擊下面描述中的鏈接，瞭解更多。

Gender equality and the economy aren’t the only problems Japan is facing.

兩性平等和經濟並不是日本面臨的唯一問題。

The country’s population is expected to cut in half over the next six decades.

預計在未來60年內，該國的人口將減少一半。

So what is driving this sharp decline?

那麼，是什麼原因導致了這種急劇的下跌呢？

Find out in this video.

在這個視頻中找到答案。

The problem has gotten so dire, the Japanese government has allocated nearly 30 million

問題已經非常嚴重，日本政府已經撥款近3000萬

dollars to lifting birth rates.

美元來提高出生率。

This is in addition to a number of work-life balance policies that foster shorter hours,

除此之外，還有一些促進縮短工作時間的工作與生活平衡政策。

telecommuting, and parental leave.

遠程辦公和育兒假；

Thanks for watching Seeker Daily, make sure to like and subscribe for new videos everyday.

感謝觀看《求是日報》，每天一定要點贊和訂閱新視頻。