Transcriber: Nika Kotnik Reviewer: Denise RQ
I want to first talk about a question that everybody asks me,
which is, "Why can't Japanese women have it all?
Why is it so difficult for Japanese women
to pursue their careers, raise families,
or even become a good daughter or a daughter-in-law?
Let's put things in context.
First of all, we all know that Japanese women are highly educated.
60% of Japanese women finish 4-year colleges
and that is probably one of the highest in the OECD.
Many of them go to work,
but after having their first child,
70% of the women drop out of the work force.
They quit. Why?
My discussion today here is about an option
to allow Japanese women to sponsor foreign domestic help.
Traditionally,
Japanese women who chose to work
will be able to rely on their mothers, or in-laws, or grandparents
because family is used to live together.
But that is no longer the case.
In fact, some things never change,
which is that the average number of hours
that a Japanese man or a spouse spends with children under 6,
is something like one hour a day,
which is nothing to be proud of,
and also quite a bit lower than our counterparts
in the US, Sweden, or in Germany.
Now, given that we have an aging population
where one out of four people are going to be over 2015,
is it really fair for the wife, or the daughter,
to ask somebody, or a parent, who is 65 or older
to be chasing a toddler and doing household chores?
I don't think so.
In places like in Hong Kong and in Singapore,
women get to sponsor foreign domestic help.
What are foreign domestic helpers?
Well, foreign domestic helpers are usually [people]
from places like Philippines or Thailand,
they're professionally trained, and they're able to help out
not only with child rearing
but also with household chores.
Currently, only foreigners,
or non-Japanese passport holders
are able to sponsor a foreign domestic helper.
In fact, they have to meet a certain criteria,
or hold special visas, like an investor visa.
Well, what if Japanese women or dual young couples
want to hire foreign domestic workers or even get them on a part-time basis?
Right now, it is also illegal to nanny-share, or maid-share,
which means asking somebody to work [for] you two or three days,
a person who is already sponsored by a third party,
maybe somebody from the diplomatic community,
or a business person that already has the sponsorship privileges.
I know that many people are doing that,
but nobody really wants to do anything illegal, right?
So, what are we going to do?
Frankly, I have been very lucky,
because my husband was able to sponsor a visa,
he met the requirements.
But it wasn't easy for me.
I remember going to the Immigration Office
and they told me specifically that I have to have two children
in order to sponsor a person from the Philippines.
I remember going to the Immigration Office 9 months pregnant,
and they kept on saying, "No, no, you don't have another child."
So I went back with a sonogram; do you know what a sonogram is?
(Laughter)
The picture of a baby and saying, "This is it."
Until this day, my husband would say
that he thought that I would deliver the baby right there until I got the visa.
(Laughter)
I was so desperate because I was trying to prove myself at work,
and I had two little children.
And I didn't have [family members] that I could go to for help.
This is not about having more childcare facilities.
After a really hard day at work, coming back home,
I couldn't see myself getting up and doing all of the household chores,
let alone take care of babies and what not.
I was so lucky, and my children would be the first to say, "You know, mummy,
[we are] so happy to have our second mummy."
So I really hope that one day,
women in Japan will also have that option.
I think women are very good at designing their own seamless childcare,
whatever works for them.
Now, I'm not saying this is for everyone.
Some women would want to raise their babies until they're three,
or they may not feel comfortable
about having somebody who is not a family member
helping out with a family chore,
but I could see some of my own employees
enjoying having two or three days of "days off"
of being [away from] work and being a mother and everything else.
So if you believe [in this] and agree with me,
let's voice this and talk to people,
so one day, maybe, a public policy maker will agree with it
and something will be made to change it.
So thank you.
And here is me and I think this picture is a happier one, right?
Right. So thank you.
(Applause)