The European Commissioner for Jobs and Social Rights said Japan's gender gap is similar to what it used to be like in Europe decades ago, but that the continent and the East Asian nation can learn from each other and advance women's empowerment, according to Kyodo News. Nicolas Schmit, European Commissioner for Jobs and Social Rights, also said in a recent interview with Kyodo News he was satisfied with the Group of Seven (G7) labour ministers' statement from their meeting, held over the past weekend in Japan, for mentioning the importance of issues such as equal pay and labour equality between men and women. "We wanted clear, solid and strong statements, which I think more or less we got on equal pay and on better integration of women in the labour markets," he said.

The commissioner added there was no real resistance to the statement from Japan, the meeting's chair, which he attributed to ‘a strong awareness on the Japanese side that something has to be done.’

Japan consistently ranks low in gender surveys by international organisations like the World Bank, trailing behind other G-7 nations. Schmit said that if one looks back at Europe 20 or 30 years ago, it was ‘not so far from the Japanese situation in many countries’ concerning gender issues like childcare and labour participation. Europe has worked toward, but has not yet achieved, perfect gender equality among its diverse countries, he said, something that will require continuous effort. "It is an issue where we can cooperate, learn from each other and make progress together," Schmit said.