At a time when women are increasingly making strides in professions like law, education, and business, why are there still so few in the sciences?

This is an important question for countries around the world, and it is especially relevant for Japan. The country's historically patriarchal society has created cultural roadblocks that have limited women from pursuing careers in STEM (science, technology, engineering, and math) fields. Japanese girls have traditionally been reluctant to study science for fear of being stigmatized.
 

The upshot: Just 15 percent of scientific researchers in Japan are female, putting Japan far behind such countries as the Philippines and Thailand, according to a report by UNESCO.
 

Raising the number of "Rikejo" or "science girls" has become a priority for both the Japanese government and academic institutions -- and Johnson & Johnson Institute is heeding the call.
 

Last year, the Johnson & Johnson Institute hosted 80 students at its Tokyo facility for a program called the "Female Junior High/High School Science Tour." The event, the second of its kind, is aimed at exposing girls to science and connecting them with Japanese women who are pursuing STEM careers.
 

The young women, ages 13 to 18, became "doctors for a day," participating in six types of simulated surgeries in the same operating rooms the Johnson & Johnson Institute uses to train professionals.
Also on the agenda: a tour of the research facilities at the University of Tokyo's Graduate School of Pharmaceutical Sciences, where the girls met with female students and faculty members.

One of the young participants said this has inspired her to think about pursuing a career in the sciences, possibly as a corporate scientist. She was grateful for the opportunity to get involved in a "full-scale surgical experience."

"STEM²D expands your possibilities to challenge various things and gives you more opportunities to work globally," Ikuko Ebihara, the president of Johnson & Johnson K. K. Vision Care Company in Japan said as she addressed the Science Tour participants. "Please keep trying, push further for what you want."

With events like this, girls in Japan are becoming more interested in careers in the sciences. The number who enrolled in this year's tour alone grew 14 percent compared to the previous year.

For more than 25 years, Johnson & Johnson has been leading efforts around the world to help the advancement of women in science. The Johnson & Johnson Scholars Program also aims to fuel the development of WiSTEM²D (Women in Science, Technology, Engineering, Manufacturing and Design) leaders and feed the talent pipeline by awarding and sponsoring women at critical points in their research careers in each of the disciplines, also including manufacturing and design. In support of this, Johnson & Johnson has partnered with 10 academic institutions, including the University of Tokyo, to create innovative initiatives designed to help cultivate the STEM leaders of tomorrow.

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