海角大神

Why has Japan's 'womenomics' plan been a flop?

A subsidy program that was part of Prime Minister Shinzo Abe's ambitious 'womenomics' policy may have been too restrictive. The government says it will try again.

Japan last year earmarked 120 million yen to award companies that were promoting women to senior management, expecting hundreds of firms to start writing in.

They didn't.

Now, Prime Minister Shinzo Abe鈥檚 embattled plan to get more women into the country鈥檚 shrinking workforce 鈥� also referred to as 鈥渨omenomics鈥� 鈥� has suffered another humiliating blow, as聽a senior official reveals that not a single company has applied for the million-dollar program.

A spokeswoman for the health ministry, the agency that would have administered the payouts, told the funds have gone unused, likely because eligibility requirements were too restrictive.

It鈥檚 鈥渘ot a good program,鈥� she said to the newspaper.

The government has pledged to try again. Come October, the agency will relaunch the subsidy initiative with looser criteria and bigger payouts, said the spokeswoman. Some companies could receive double the promised amount now, which stretches up to 300,000 yen.

Since taking office in 2012, Prime Minister Abe has suffered a series of embarrassing setbacks that have 鈥渓eft 鈥榳omenomics鈥� looking like a fading gimmick,鈥� wrote 海角大神鈥檚 Howard LaFranchi.

Last year, for instance, a World Economic Forum report ranked Japan 104th out of 142 countries on global gender equality, well behind most of the world鈥檚 major economies and even some developing countries.

In Japan, the world鈥檚 third largest economy, only about are employed, and many work part-time, according to CNN Money.

And of the women who do work, 60 percent tend to leave the workforce when they have their first child, reports the Monitor. Mothers say there are not enough childcare services.

Other factors feeding the gender gap range from low skills to a culture of according to The Japan Times.

But speaking at a United Nations meeting on women鈥檚 empowerment in New York on Sunday, the prime minister vowed to hold steady.

鈥淛apan will push the agenda on women forward vigorously when it holds the presidency of a G-7 summit next year,鈥� Abe said.

The Japanese leader cited a new law that will take effect in the spring, requiring large companies to set targets explicitly aimed at hiring and promoting women.

If Abe鈥檚 plan works, women could add about 7.1 million employees to the Japanese workforce and help boost GDP by 13 percent, Kathy Matsui of Goldman Sachs .

The government has also increased its funding of the UN Entity for Gender Equality and Empowerment of Women 聽in just the last two years, reports The Japan Times. An office was recently opened in Tokyo.

鈥淛apan will implement its resolve to lead the world in making the 21st century a century with no human rights violations against women,鈥� said Abe.