Japan Markets ViewWomen’s Promotion Advancing in TOPIX 100 Companies – Women Executives Exceed 30% in 17 Companies at the End of April

 

[Taigi Endo, QUICK ESG Research Center] The appointment of women to executive positions is gradually progressing in Japan’s major companies. Looking at the constituents of the TOPIX 100, the Tokyo Stock Exchange’s (TSE) large-cap index, the number of companies with at least 30% female executives increased to 17 from one five years ago. The total number of female executives in the 100 companies was 345, double the number six years ago, representing more than 20% of all executives, including male executives.

 

*Source: Compiled by QUICK ESG Research Center using QUICK’s financial information terminal to obtain the number of male and female executives of TOPIX 100 constituent companies from Nikkei data for each date.

 

Using QUICK’s financial information terminal, we downloaded, compiled, and compared the number of male and female executives of each of the TOPIX 100 constituents from data provided by Nikkei as of April 30 of each year from 2019 to 2025. In 2019 and 2020, companies with a female executive ratio of 30% or more were only Shiseido (4911). In 2025, the number of such companies increased to 17. In addition, as of the end of April 2023, companies with no female executives (0%) ceased to exist.

The number of female executives per company, which is the total number of female executives divided by the number of constituent companies, doubled from just under 1.7 in 2019 to nearly 3.5 in 2024. During this period, the “number of executives per company,” which is the total number of executives (the sum of male and female executives) divided by the number of constituent companies, remained roughly flat at about 17. This indicates that no action, such as increasing the quota of executive officers, has been taken to increase the number of female executives.

The “30% Club” is a global campaign led by Chairs and CEOs taking action to increase gender diversity at board and executive committee levels. The Japan chapter of this organization, “30% Club Japan,” has set a goal of increasing the ratio of women on the boards of directors at TOPIX 100 companies to 30% by 2030. 30% Club Japan officially started its activities in May 2019. Taking April 30 of the same year, just prior to its launch, as a starting point, it appears that it has made steady progress over the past six years.

The support from the government and the TSE should not be overlooked. In June 2023, the government set a numerical target for female executives at companies listed on the TSE Prime Market (“Prime Market-listed companies”) in its “The Basic Policy on Gender Equality and Empowerment of Women.” In October 2023, the TSE called for Prime Market-listed companies to appoint at least one female executive by 2025, and to increase the ratio of female executives to at least 30% by 2030. In December 2023, the government set interim targets of achieving a “ratio of female executives of 19%” and “no companies with zero female executives” for Prime Market-listed companies by 2025.

 

*Source: Compiled by QUICK ESG Research Center using QUICK’s financial information terminal to obtain the number of male and female executives of Prime Market-listed companies from Nikkei data for each date.

 

Let’s take a look at the data for Prime Market-listed companies, for which the government and the TSE have set targets. Compared to the TOPIX100 constituent companies, the Prime Market-listed companies appear to lag behind in appointing female executives. However, if we take April 2022 as the starting point when the Prime Market began as a result of market restructuring, the number of companies with no female executives (0%) has decreased significantly from 18.7% of the total to 3.7% by the end of April 2025. The number of companies with a female executive ratio of 30% or more is also steadily increasing.

Calculating the number of executives per company in the same way as for the TOPIX 100 constituents, it is just under 12, and has remained almost unchanged since 2022. On the other hand, the number of female executives per company has increased from about 1.3 in 2022 to about 2 in 2025. While the total number of executives remains flat, female executives are gradually increasing, which is also commendable.

The 30% Club Japan aims to increase “the ratio of women on board of directors,” which includes corporate auditors for companies with a board of corporate auditors. On the other hand, the government’s definition of “female executives” includes not only directors, corporate auditors, and legally designated executive officers, but also corporate officers and similar positions that each company assumes as the premise for its target for appointing female executives. Although this definition of “female executives” may differ from that in the Nikkei data discussed here, the overall trend is a steady increase in the number of female executives, particularly among the TOPIX 100 constituent companies.

It should be noted, however, that the data presented here is a “total number of executives,” wherein individuals are counted for each position they hold. A significant number of executives likely serve as outside directors or corporate auditors for more than one company. We examined TOPIX 100 constituents with a fiscal year ending December 31 that held their annual shareholders’ meeting in March 2025. As a result, we found an instance of a woman reappointed as outside directors of three other Prime Market-listed companies, two of which are also TOPIX 100 constituent companies. She serves as an outside director for four companies. It is difficult to say that female employees are being promoted to executive positions in the same companies where they began their careers. Developing female executives in-house seems to be a challenge.
(Reported on May 14)

 

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