Women lawyers make up 18.8% of the legal profession in Japan. That’s a significant increase from the 3.1% in 1980, but a 2019 report by the Japan Federation of Bar Associations says the percentage growth of female practitioners in Japan over the past five years is startlingly low— less than 1%.

But the country’s largest law firms, commonly known as Japan’s Big Four, have now introduced formal diversity and inclusion standards to attract female talent. They are motivated in part by national policy calling for more women in the workplace, and more in management positions. But they are also driven by competition from foreign law firms and by international clients, who increasingly expect diversity statistics from Japan’s global firms.