Tokyo Gov Highlights Womens Empowerment & Child Welfare at Global Leaders Forum

• Tokyo Governor Koike Yuriko spoke to a worldwide meeting of women leaders
• She has led in the empowerment of women and the welfare of children
• Vice Governor Matsumoto Akiko also accompanied her to address international women's conferences

Tokyo's Governor Koike Yuriko, the capital's first female governor since she was elected in 2016, told a global group of women leaders at a conference that she has used passion, compassion and a well-thought out plan in her nine years as governor.

Speaking via video at the Most Powerful Women summit in Riyadh, Koike mentioned she has advocated for women and children's well-being through free school lunches, tuition reimbursement, child care subsidies, a four-day work week, and other work-life balance initiatives.

Tokyo's Vice Governor Akiko Matsumoto, who is Tokyo's first female deputy since 2019 and who was appointed in 2024, spoke at the International Women's Forum in Seattle. S

He quoted Tokyo's trajectory on women in leadership, reporting the city's women represented 50 percent of the members of its advisory boards, up from 25 percent since 2016.

In addition, she noted new networks that provided support to over 100 companies, access for women business owners to some funding, and a public-private partnership of $55 million that will support women led startups, among others.

The leaders rolled out Women in Action, a program to attract business leaders, entrepreneurs, and policy-makers that will foster women's empowerment all over Japan by harnessing women's unrealized potential for a truly inclusive society. 

The Tokyo Governor Koike presented her Tokyo 2050 Strategy where Tokyo is "the world's best city," through sustainable, balanced growth and the inclusion of innovation, disaster resilience, and global competitiveness. 

Their main message: women's empowerment is not just equality, but an effective mechanism to drive social and economic change.