This year's gender gap index by prefecture in Japan has shown large regional differences in the ratio of female participation in disaster preparedness activities.



The fourth annual prefectural gender gap index was released on March 8, to coincide with International Women's Day.



A group led by Sophia University professor Miura Mari compiled the index by looking at the ratio of men and women in 30 indicators in the categories of politics, administration and two other fields.



Tokyo came on top in politics for the fourth straight year.
The metropolis's female governor and its being the only prefecture in the nation to top 30 percent in the ratio of women in the assembly were cited as the main reasons.



Aomori and Shimane prefectures, where women were elected in the 2024 national election, saw a big jump in their ranking.



For the fourth year in a row, Tottori came in first place in the administration category. The prefecture's years of efforts to elevate women to managerial positions are paying off.



All prefectures have improved in closing the gender gap in the rate of workers who have taken childcare leave.



The percentage of women sitting on the prefecture's disaster preparedness panels is one of the indicators in the administration category.



Tokushima came on top with 47 percent followed by Shiga's 46 percent. Yamanashi, Yamagata and Ehime lagged far behind with around 10 percent.



The panels usually have a higher ratio of men because they largely consist of representatives from the police and Self-Defense Forces.



But Tokushima and Shiga changed their ordinances to increase the size of the panels and appointed more women to them.



Some prefectures have launched initiatives to respond to natural disasters from the perspective of women based on their past experience of living through evacuations.



Professor Miura says the commitment of prefectural governments matters in improving the index in this field. She says a larger female presence is not the goal but only a milestone. She says prefectures should look beyond this milestone and envision what type of community and organizational structure they want.