UpdateJapan names five women to new cabinet of Prime Minister Shinzo Abe

Five women were chosen for Shinzo Abe's cabinet yesterday, matching the past record and sending the strongest message yet about his determination to revive the economy by attracting women as workers and leaders.

The nation has a vast pool of talented, well-educated women, but they are far under-represented in positions of power in government and business, making up 10 per cent of parliament and just 3.9 per cent of board members of listed Japanese companies. Women in Japan have long complained about obstacles at work, getting equal pay for equal work and finding child-care or helpful spouses.

Abe has said that a key part of his "Abenomics" growth strategy is making greater use of women and promoting them to leadership posts and has set a goal of having women in 30 per cent of leadership positions in both the private and public sectors by 2020.

Having five women in the 18-member cabinet is extremely rare for Japan, It matches the highest number, set back in 2001, under Junichiro Koizumi. Abe's previous cabinet, which was dissolved earlier in the day, had two women ministers.

Although holding ministerial positions is in some ways ceremonial in Japan, where government affairs are largely run by professional bureaucrats, expanding the presence of women in a place as high-profile as the cabinet is a step towards sexual equality in Japan.

"As a woman, I am happy to have even one additional woman in power. There doesn't have to be a reason. I am rooting for them," said Kazuko Watanabe, who works as a public relations specialist in the port city of Yokohama, near Tokyo. "I hope they do their best to get the job done."