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Women Managers in Japan In the Spring 1988 issue of the California Management Review is an article on “Hiring Women Managers in Japan: An Alternative for Foreign Employers” by Paul Lansing and Kathryn Ready. The authors argue that there is an increasing pool of college‐educated women in Japan who, if given the opportunity, are prepared to take on managerial positions in Japanese business. Due to the difficulties foreign firms face in hiring Japanese male graduates in Japan, it seems appropriate that foreign firms seriously consider a managerial strategy to encourage qualified female employees as a means of obtaining local managers in Japan. The legal environment has created a labour force that is ripe for change. Innovative firms stand to gain by taking actions to accord women equal opportunities in recruitment, hiring and promotion. This extends beyond the “make efforts” dictum of the new Equal Employment Opportunity law. While this strategy is not without risk, the potential return seems to the authors to be well worth the risk.