FOCUS: Japanese Women Build Careers in Male-Dominated Industries

Tokyo, March 15 (Jiji Press)–A growing number of women in Japan are building careers and taking on greater responsibilities in industries long dominated by men, including maritime transportation and construction. A government survey found that, as of 2020, women accounted for less than 20 pct of the workforce in those sectors, far below the figure of more than 40 pct across all industries. Even so, some women have steadily carved out their own paths, drawing on personal experiences that sparked their ambition and sustained their resolve. First Female Captain In 2023, Naomi Matsushita of Mitsui O.S.K. Lines Ltd. became the first woman to serve as captain aboard a ship operated by a major integrated Japanese shipping company. “Before coming to the company, I was always job-hunting with one goal in mind: finding any opportunity to work on a ship,” Matsushita recalls. From an early age, she was fascinated by life at sea. After seeing multinational crews working energetically aboard ships, she enrolled in Tokyo University of Mercantile Marine, now Tokyo University of Marine Science and Technology, in 2000. She went on to obtain the marine officer’s license required to command large vessels. At the time, however, opportunities for women to serve on oceangoing ships were extremely limited. Undeterred, she built experience at coastal shipping operators and other companies before moving to Mitsui O.S.K. Lines as a midcareer hire in 2006. Matsushita was only the second female seafarer at the company. She earned trust steadily, guided by a simple conviction: “As professionals working on a ship, we (women and men) are the same.” Her career made progress alongside the demands of raising two children. The company supported her family by arranging for her and her husband, a chief engineer, to alternate their time at sea. When Matsushita was away on voyages, her mother helped by taking care of kindergarten drop-offs and pickups. “This is not something I accomplished alone,” she says. A major source of strength was her mother, who encouraged her to “pursue a career and create a foundation to live independently.” That support helped carry Matsushita to a historic milestone. In April, she will break new ground again, becoming the first woman to lead the division responsible for seafarer policy at Mitsui O.S.K. Lines. In that role, she hopes to help women in the industry feel less isolated. “I want to create more opportunities for women seafarers to connect with one another, so they know they are not alone,” she says. The company has set a target of increasing the share of women among its seafarer candidates from just over 7 pct currently to 35 pct by 2035. The goal suggests that life and work at sea may finally be changing. Gaining Confidence Kyoko Yuri, a technical employee at major general contractor Kajima Corp., says she was attracted to large-scale manufacturing that supports social infrastructure. She is now working as a construction manager on the redevelopment project around Sengakuji Station in Tokyo, overseeing subcontracted work and applying the experience she has gained on site to manage construction costs. After starting at Kajima in the spring of 2016, Yuri was assigned just a month later to the construction of a new hospital in Fukushima Prefecture, northeastern Japan. There, she was put in charge of constructing an annex on an empty plot of land, an assignment that required her to create a work environment that was both safe and efficient. “Completing the annex, though it is smaller in scale than the main hospital building,” gave her a strong sense of confidence. Looking ahead, she says she hopes to continue “developing her career and become someone who can help generate profits at construction sites.” Yuri joined Kajima about a decade after the company began hiring women straight out of university for career-track positions. At the time, there were few senior women ahead of her who could serve as role models. She has, at times, felt anxious about how to balance child care and her career. Even so, she has tried to stay focused on the work in front of her, an approach she continues to value. In late February, Yuri stood before a group of younger female employees at a training session and shared a message rooted in her own experience. “If you keep going without giving up, a path will open,” she told them. At Kajima, women now make up nearly 30 pct of new career-track hires, a sign of how much has changed since Yuri arrived at the company. END [Copyright The Jiji Press, Ltd.]