An NHK survey shows that nearly half of Japan's major corporations that have never had female board members are considering adding them.

The poll covered 245 companies on the Tokyo Stock Exchange's Prime section that are having shareholder meetings this month. One hundred and twenty say they are considering adding female members to their boards for the first time.

Shareholders in Japan are increasingly calling on companies to fix the skewed gender balance in their boardrooms.

But most of the firms surveyed say they will seek female executives from outside, including lawyers and university professors. Only six are planning to select the women from their own ranks.

In a related development, the Japanese government issued a new policy on women's empowerment this month.

One of its targets is an increase in the ratio of female board members at companies in the Prime section to at least 30 percent by 2030.

The survey shows that business leaders are reluctant to nurture their own female workers as executive material and choosing instead to hire people from outside the company.