Tokyo, Jun 13 (IANS): The Japanese government on Tuesday approved a women empowerment policy package with the target of having female executives account for more than 30 per cent of board members at companies listed on the Tokyo Stock Exchange's Prime top-tier section.

The package, adopted at a joint meeting of relevant government panels, also includes a target for Prime-listed companies to appoint at least one female board member by 2025 as a starter, as companies in the country lag behind the US and European countries in promoting women to managerial positions, reports Xinhua news agency.

Prime Minister Fumio Kishida said the government and cabinet ministers will work together to realise a sustainable society where diversity is respected and everyone can live a fulfilling life.

The government is also considering extending the obligation to disclose the wage gap between men and women to companies with more than 100 regular employees.

Currently, only companies with over 300 employees are subject to this requirement.

In Japan, 18.7 per cent of the firms listed on the Prime Market had no female board members as of the end of July 2022, while the proportion of the companies with over 30 per cent of executive roles filled by women was only 2.2 per cent, according to the Cabinet Office.