Taking advantage of a visit to Japan by Hon. Diana DeGette (D-CO), the US co-chair of the US-Japan Women Leaders Dialogue, JCIE convened a roundtable and lunch meeting that brought together a number of our Dialogue members in person for the first time since the pandemic began. The Congresswoman and participants discussed the inclusion of gender equity in the documents from the May 23 Biden-Kishida Summit, which came about as an outcome of the ongoing Dialogue. They also discussed recent issues facing the US Congress on gender issues (e.g., the attack on reproductive rights and how gender issues might impact the upcoming midterm elections), next steps in US-Japan cooperation on women’s issues, and recent developments in Japan from the government, business, and academic perspectives.

The roundtable was then followed by a smaller lunch meeting with the Japan Co-chair, Hon. Seiko Noda, who is currently Minister in Charge of Women’s Empowerment, Minister of State for Gender Equality, and Minister of State for Measures for Declining Birthrate. They were joined by Tomoko Hayashi, Director-General of Gender Equality Bureau, Cabinet Office, as well as a member of the Diet and a representative from the US Embassy in Japan.