Male Dominance

Prewar Japan was a male-dominated society. Politically, this was symbolized by the lack of franchise for women. It was natural that the government bureaucracy should mirror the inferiority of women in the larger society. Legally, however, women were placed on an equal footing with men in the competition for civil-service appointments as early as 1909, when they became eligible for the higher civil-service examination. However, they did not actually end male monopoly until 1928, when three women passed the judicial section of the higher civil-service examination. In 1931, a women passed its administrative section for the first time but was never offered an appointment to the higher civil service. Although more women passed the judicial section, no other women passed the administrative section before it was abolished after the Japanese defeat in World War II.^[54] As two American observers wrote in 1946: "The status system shows little scope for female service. The only women who have invaded the higher civil service are a few physicians and one labor executive in the Welfare Ministry. Even among ordinary officials, there are very few women; generally the exclusion is quite complete."^[55] To what extent has the situation changed since 1946?

The earliest available information regarding the sexual composition of the civil service pertains to 1958. A government survey of general-service employees covered by the regular compensation law revealed

[52] Shimizu Hideo, Tokyo Daigaku Hogakubu: Nihon erito no manmosu kichi [The University of Tokyo Faculty of Law: A Mammoth Base of Japan's Elite] (Tokyo: Kodansha, 1965), p. 48.

[53] See Tokyo Daigaku shinbun , 28 June 1976, and Hata, Kanryo no kenkyu , p. 189.

[54] Hata, Kanryo no Kenkyu , pp. 103-4.

[55] MacDonald and Esman, "The Japanese Civil Service," p. 215.

that 62, 128 (17.2 percent) of the 360,328 civil servants were women. However, only 802 of the women civil servants had college degrees. In other words, only 1.6 percent of all civil servants with college degrees were women. The proportion increased sharply—to 14.7 percent—when graduates of junior colleges were examined.^[56]

In terms of average monthly salaries, female college graduates in the civil service earned 41.9 percent less than their male counterparts, and female graduates of junior colleges earned 30.5 percent less than their male colleagues with the same amount of education. When the length of service is held constant, the gender gap in compensation narrows somewhat. Women college graduates with less than one year of service earned 5.6 percent less than men with the identical background, but the disparity nearly quadrupled for women with fifteen to twenty years of service.^[57]

By 1976, some progress had been registered in the overall picture. The proportion of women in the civil service increased slightly, to 19.5 percent, and the proportion of women among college graduates in the civil service increased fourfold, to 6.8 percent. Meanwhile, the gender gap in compensation became markedly narrower. This was especially true when comparison was made between men and women with the same level of education and the identical length of service; in fact, women with less than two years of service earned slightly more than their male counterparts. However, the gap for those with longer experience remained, although it had been substantially reduced.^[58]

Table 14 shows that women have by no means been shut out of the higher civil-service examination. On the contrary, between 4 and 8

[56] Jinji-in, Nenji hokokusho , 1958, p. 50. To a large extent, the scarcity of college-educated women in the Japanese civil service reflected the scarcity of college-educated women in Japanese society as a whole. Of 1,858 persons who graduated from four-year colleges in 1950, only 31 (1.7 percent) were women. The situation had improved markedly by 1955:13,544 (14.3%) of the 94,735 university graduates that year were women. The proportion of women among university graduates increased steadily thereafter: 16.2 percent in 1965, 21.6 percent in 1975, and 24.7 percent in 1980. Among graduates of junior colleges, women began to surpass men in 1953, and by the late 1960s, eight of every ten junior-college graduates were women. In 1980, 155,200 (91.3 percent) of the 169,930 persons who graduated from junior colleges were women. Monbusho, ed., Waga kuni no kyoiku suijun , 1980, appendixes 137 and 138.

[57] Jinji-in, Nenji hokokusho , 1958, pp. 48-49.

[58] The gap for women with 15 to 20 years of service had been reduced from 19 percent in 1958 to 8.3 percent in 1976. See Jinji-in, kyuyokyoku, Kokka komuin kyuyoto jittai chosa hokokusho [Report on an Investigation into the Actual Conditions of National Civil Servants' Compensation and Related Matters], 15 Jan. 1976 (Tokyo: Okurasho, Insatsukyoku, 1976), pp. 4-5 and 38-39. Chap. 8 discusses further the question of the gender gap in compensation.

percent of the successful candidates in recent years have been women. The peak for women was reached in the early 1960s, when they constituted 8 to 9 percent of the successful candidates. From 1966 to 1982, the number of successful women candidates remained well below 100—in fact, close to half that number—and their proportion consistently fell short of the 5 percent mark. In 1983, however, women registered a substantial gain in both absolute and proportional terms. In

1984 not only did women sustain the same rate of gain as the previous year's, but, for the first time in the history of the higher civil-service examination, they received the highest grade in four fields: sociology, pharmacy, agriculture, and agricultural economics.^[59] In 1985 women broke the 100 barrier for the first time in twenty years, and their proportion among all the successful candidates, too, was the highest since 1964. Women were top-scorers in two fields, chemistry and pharmacy.^[60] In 1986 women continued their upward trend, gaining twenty-three in absolute numbers and 1.2 percentage points in their share of the successes over the previous year.^[61] In 1987 although women registered a slight decline both in absolute numbers and in proportional terms, they produced top scorers in four fields for the second time in three years: sociology, psychology, education, and pharmacy. In 1988 women had their best performance in twenty-five years: 150 successes (8.3 percent of all successes). They also produced top scorers in three fields: public administration, psychology, and animal husbandry.^[62]

Another notable pattern has to do with the ratios of types A and B. As we saw in table 6, since the 1970s successful type-A candidates have outnumbered successful type-B candidates by the ratios of between ten and fifteen to one. Among women, however, the ratios until 1984 hovered around four to one. In fact, when women's share of successful type-A candidates alone is examined, there is a slight deterioration in the picture. Except for 1963, 1964, and 1984, women's share of the total type-A successes is about a half percentage point below that of type-B successes. To sum up, in the category that really counts in terms of upward mobility, women still have a long way to go.

How do women compare with men in terms of their rates of success in the higher civil-service examination? Table 15 presents the relevant statistics for 1983 and 1984. It shows that although women lag behind men in their success rates in all major categories of specialization, the gap is the narrowest in "law and the humanities," where the difference is only a half percentage point. The widest gap is found in "science and engineering," where men's success rates were 2.6 to 2.7 percentage points higher than women's. Although women's success rates improved

[59] Mainichi shinbun , 1 Oct. 1984 (evening ed.).

[60] Asahi shinbun , 1 Oct. 1985 (evening ed.).

[61] Ibid., 1 Oct. 1986 (evening ed.).

[62] Yomiuri shinbun , 15 Sept. 1987; Asahi shinbun , 7 Sept. 1988 (evening ed.).

somewhat in 1984 compared with 1983, so did men's, thus leaving the overall gender gap intact.

One bright spot in table 15, so far as women are concerned, is that nearly half of women's successes are found in "law and the humanities," compared with only about a quarter of men's successes. This is good news for women, primarily because candidates in "law and the humanities" enjoy an edge in upward mobility. In terms of specific fields, as opposed to groups of fields, the top five for women in 1983 were pharmacy (13), law (11), education (6), sociology (6), and agricultural chemistry (6). These five fields together accounted for 57.5 percent of all successful women candidates. In 1984, three fields tied for the fifth position. The top fields were law (12), agricultural chemistry (11), pharmacy (9), chemistry (7), psychology (5), education (5), and sociology (5). These seven fields together accounted for 62.8 percent of all successful women candidates.^[63]

[63] These statistics were obtained from the National Personnel Authority during the author's visit to that agency in June 1985.

As noted, success in the higher civil-service examination does not automatically translate into an appointment to the higher civil service. Hence we need to know how many women actually are appointed to the higher civil service. Table 16 presents two kinds of data pertinent to the question. First, column B displays the number of new women appointees to Administrative Service I positions who have passed either the type-A or type-B higher civil-service examination. Second, column A displays the number of all higher-examination-qualified women civil servants who occupy Administrative Service I positions in the years indicated. Looking at column B first, we see that the number of new women appointees is quite small. Column D indicates, moreover, that their proportion is equally small. Only in 1985 and 1986 did women in the type-A category exceed 4 percent of the total new appointees. So far as the less prestigious type B is concerned, women's proportion surpassed the 10-percent mark three times, in 1976, 1982, and 1985. In fact, in all of the twelve years covered in the table, type-B women surpassed type-A women in proportional terms, though the record is mixed in terms of absolute numbers.

Turning to column A, we find that with the notable exception of 1977, the total number of higher-examination-certified women in Administrative Service I positions increased steadily until 1984. Although 1977 registered a 23-percent decline, the following year saw an 18-percent increase, and by 1979 the 1976 level was all but restored. In subsequent years we see a steady increase until 1985, when the number declined by 12 percent over the previous year. In proportional terms the picture has remained relatively stable: at no time did the combined totals of types A and B exceed 4 percent. When we focus on type A only, we find that women's share is below the 3-percent mark; even though a breakdown by types A and B is not available for the years 1975 through 1981, we can surmise that the same general pattern holds. It should be stressed that table 16 displays data for women in Administrative Service I positions only. If we were to examine all women who are in the higher civil service, the picture would improve somewhat. The number of women who are graduates of the type-A (or type-I) higher examination, for example, doubles, and their proportion increases by 1 to 2 percent.

If we focus on the administrative elite in the narrow sense, that is, those civil servants who have attained at least the position of section chief or its equivalent, we find that women are even more underrepresented than the preceding statistics suggest. In 1987, one could count

only twelve such women serving in the headquarters (honsho ) of the twelve main ministries. In fact, only six ministries had women in elite positions: Labor (4), Health and Welfare (3), MITI (2), Agriculture (1), Justice (1), and Education (1). By including those serving in the "field" (gaikyoku ), we could increase the total to seventeen and the number of ministries represented to seven (with the Finance Ministry being added). Inclusion of the other government agencies would add eight more: four from the National Personnel Authority and two each from the prime minister's office and the Economic Planning Agency. Actually, one of the two women in the prime minister's office had been temporarily detached from the Labor Ministry.^[64]

Of the twenty-five women, two were bureau chiefs, one was chief of a prefectural bureau, ten were section chiefs, three were chiefs of offices (shitsu cho ), two were counselors (sanjikan ), two others were directors of research institutes, and the rest held miscellaneous titles that were equivalent to section chiefs. Their age ranged from 41 to 59, the median age being 47. In terms of educational background, twelve were graduates of Todai, three were from International Christian University, and the remainder had gone to Tohoku, Keio, Waseda, Ochanomizu, and other universities. Two, both nurses, had not attended college. In terms of field of study, the largest number (five) had studied general education (kyoyo ). Law and the humanities tied for second place with four each. Economics and pharmacy followed with two each. The remaining women had majored in various fields ranging from mathematics to nursing.

The two highest-ranking women were employed in the Ministries of Labor and Health and Welfare, respectively. Sato Ginko, a 1958 graduate of Todai's general-education faculty, was chief of the Labor Ministry's Women's Bureau. Since 1947, when the bureau was first created, it has always been headed by a woman.^[65] The other senior woman, Nagao Ritsuko, was promoted to her position as chief of the Children's and Families' Bureau of the Health and Welfare Ministry in September 1987. She thus became not only the first woman bureau chief in her ministry but also the first woman to attain a bureau-chief rank

[64] These data are based on a review of all the higher civil servants listed in Seikai kancho jinji roku, 1988-nenban [Who's Who in Politics and Government, 1988 Edition] (Tokyo: Toyo Keizai Shinposha, 1987).

[65] Sano Mitsuko, Josei kanryo: Sono ishiki to kodo [Women Bureaucrats: Their Consciousness and Behavior] (Tokyo: Jihyosha 1983), p. 397.

outside the Labor Ministry. She is a 1958 graduate of Todai's literature faculty and a twenty-nine-year veteran in her ministry.^[66]

The third-highest-ranking woman in 1987 was Matsumoto Yasuko, chief of the Labor Ministry's Bureau of Labor Standards in Saga prefecture. A 1959 graduate of Waseda University (politics and economics), she had previously served as a section chief in her ministry and as chief of a women's-affairs office in the prime minister's office.^[67]

Another woman who merits brief mention is Sakamoto Harumi. A 1962 graduate of Todai's law faculty, she became, in the same year, the first woman ever hired by the Ministry of International Trade and Industry (MITI) on its elite track. After compiling a distinguished record in MITI, she was appointed chief of the Sapporo Bureau of International Trade and Industry in June 1986 and subsequently drew much attention and praise for her handling of her new job. In June 1987, however, she abruptly resigned her position. Shortly thereafter she became an adviser to the Daiichi Kangyo Bank, Japan's largest bank.^[68]

Most of the women who opt for careers in the higher civil service do so in the belief that in so doing they are likely to encounter markedly less discrimination than they would in the private sector. For many women, there is no other viable choice. According to a 1976 Todai graduate who entered the Finance Ministry in the same year, even graduates of Todai's economics faculty are not in much demand in the private sector if they happen to be women; she chose public employment "by the process of elimination."^[69] In the case of Sakamoto Harumi, however, an explicit commitment of equal treatment was said to have been obtained prior to her entry into MITI.^[70]

Nearly all women, nonetheless, do run into difficulties. Some discover that they are expected by their male superiors to perform such traditionally feminine tasks as serving tea, cleaning up the office, and answering telephones for other people. One woman, Matsumoto

[66] Asahi shinbun , 26 Sept. 1987. For a profile of Nagao, see Sano, Josei kanryo , pp. 193-218.

[67] For a profile of Matsumoto, see Yoshihara Atsuko, Sukato o baita kokyu kanryo [Higher Civil Servants Who Wear Skirts] (Tokyo: K. K. Kanki Shuppan, 1986), pp. 107-33.

[68] Asahi shinbun , 19 June 1987; "Kasumigaseki konhidensharu," Bungei shunju , Feb. 1986, p. 192, and Oct. 1987, p. 180. For a profile of Sakamoto, see Sano, Josei kanryo , pp. 277-302 and Yoshihara, Sukato o haita kokyu kanryo , pp. 35-106.

[69] Sano, Josei kanryo , p. 122.

[70] Yoshihara, Sukato o haita kokyu kanryo , pp. 23 and 67. Sakamoto had another offer from a major private firm, which gave her some bargaining power.

Yasuko, upon being asked to do such chores at a prefectural office of the Labor Ministry in her second year, flatly refused to take turns as a telephone operator, even though she did serve tea. When her superior tried to persuade her in front of all other women civil servants, none of whom was on the career track, she countered by proposing that in return for women's serving tea, men should clean up the office. Her proposal was tacitly accepted.^[71] Her intransigence apparently did not hurt her career, for, as we have seen, she later served as a section chief and chief of a prefectural bureau.

A number of women also report incidents in which, when they answer telephones or greet visitors, the callers or visitors ask to talk with the "person in charge," refusing to believe that they are talking to such persons. The most difficult of all, however, is the challenge posed by children. Since most do not get home until 9 or 10 P.M. on most days and, during the budget-preparation period, the working hours are extended further, they need to find housekeepers and baby-sitters. Many end up enlisting the aid of their mothers.

Women in the elite track try very hard not to deviate from the unwritten social norms of Japanese bureaucracy. These entail having drinks with colleagues and, especially, subordinates after work and playing mah-jongg, a favorite pastime of Japanese bureaucrats, with them.

In sum, although Japanese bureaucracy is no longer the bastion of male supremacy that it once was, it still has a long way to go before women achieve a semblance of equality or, at least, reasonably fair representation, in its high echelons. The handful of women who have either attained or are on their way toward attaining senior ranks appear to have educational and other credentials that either equal or surpass those of their male counterparts.