The Party's Headquarters for the Promotion of Women in Society (Chairperson: Yoko Kamikawa, member of the House of Representatives), which reports directly to Party President Shinzo Abe, held its first meeting on October 2.

In her opening remarks, Chairperson Kamikawa stated, "Promotion of women in society is one of the most important priorities for the Abe government. We want to work in close coordination with the government to enable women to work and live as they wish, and to create a society in which women have the opportunity to shine."

In attendance from the government was Minister in charge of Women's Empowerment Haruko Arimura. She provided an outline of a "policy package that gives all women the opportunity to shine" that the government wants to implement by the spring of next year and discussed the "Bill for the Promotion of the Role of Women in the Workplace," which will be submitted to the current session of the Diet.

Her remarks highlighted the underlying idea behind the policy package that "enabling women to achieve their maximum capacity will reinvigorate the country as a whole," and she highlighted six areas of emphasis, including: (1) pregnancy, childbirth, child rearing, and elder care; (2) opportunity in the workplace; and (3) opportunity and entrepreneurialism in the community.

Members in attendance commented that "the cooperation of men is necessary if women are to play a greater role," and sought a discussion of ways to change the thinking and perceptions of men and the culture at companies.

The goal of the Headquarters is to formulate policy in advance of next year's Party Convention and nationwide elections, and to hold a symposium as a nationwide campaign caravan to highlight the issue on the role of women.