> More women in the workforce means more workers, more money in the economy, more viability for families, more progress, more development, more real demand for

> More women in the workforce means more workers, more money in the economy, more viability for families, more progress, more development, more real demand for goods and services etc. You aren't really making an effort to demonstrate this, or your earlier point that the "biggest issue" is making it "easier for women to work and succeed". In Japan right now, it's not just that women are underemployed -- men are underemployed, as well. "Death by overwork" affects women as well as men. This would seem to speak to an overwhelming level of power on the part of employers, not a need for more workers. I am really puzzled by the idea that the core problem in Japan has anything to do with the relative involvement of women in the work force.