Gender equality discourse: a Japanese context

Purpose This review paper aims to critically examine the discourse on gender equality in Japan, focusing on its socio-cultural, economic and political dimensions. By synthesising existing literature, it provides a comprehensive understanding of the complexities and barriers that influence the gender equality debate in Japan, while identifying gaps and opportunities for future research and specifying where practice can be recoupled to policy. Design/methodology/approach An integrative literature review was conducted across four key institutional domains – markets, government/public sector, families and education – analysed at the macro, meso and micro levels. The synthesis is integrative rather than exhaustive, prioritising analytic coverage over completeness. Findings The dynamic relationship between institutional pressures and cultural norms reinforces traditional gender roles across domains. While global pressures and progressive policies have catalysed some change, entrenched routines and weak enforcement often constrain substantive transformation. Decoupling is concentrated at two interfaces: macro to meso (policy to organisation) and meso to micro (organisation to household). Originality/value This study integrates institutional multiplicity with the three-cycle social innovation lens to demonstrate how Japan’s competing logics sustain policy–practice decoupling and to identify where recoupling can begin. It specifies two actionable interfaces (macro to meso and meso to micro), aligns practical levers to each and proposes illustrative indicators that make early recoupling observable for internal monitoring and public reporting, providing usable guidance for policymakers and organisations.