The female labour force in Japan is the most underutilised resource. Japan must become a place where women shine.” Thus spoke Prime Minister Shinzo Abe in a speech at Davos last month in which he said his country’s output could rise 16 per cent if women worked as much as men. In London last year, in full Abenomics sales-pitch mode, he made similar remarks, declaring: “I am determined to encourage women to break through the glass ceiling. I will prepare the architecture to make that possible.”

As Japan ages and its population shrinks, the old men who run the country are realising they need women more than they thought. From now on, women must do it all. They must have more babies, since the birth rate is just 1.4, well below the 2.1 needed to replenish a population. They must look after their children because nursery places are in short supply and the concept, common in places such as Hong Kong, of relying on foreign nannies is discouraged by law. They must also care for older relatives given that 11 per cent of the population is over 75 and that there is a stigma against old people’s homes. Oh, and while they are at it, they must work in formal employment to boost the country’s gross domestic product. Not surprisingly, women have not been able to do all this simultaneously. The glass ceiling mentioned by Mr Abe is more like reinforced concrete and the women-friendly “architecture” he wants to erect is as flimsy as origami. As a result, many women are on virtual strike, marrying later and having fewer children.

In some ways, they are decidedly not on strike. More are holding down jobs while continuing to perform their household “duties”. The female participation rate has risen steadily. Last year the number of women working reached a record high. In 2010, according to the OECD, the club of mostly rich nations, 63 per cent of Japanese women aged between 15 and 65 were working, slightly higher than the OECD average of 62 per cent, albeit lower than countries such as the US, at 68 per cent; and the UK, at 70 per cent.