This dialogue was  organized jointly with the Women’s Committee of Uzbekistan and our project “Empowering women to participate in public administration and socio-economic life”.

Nagoya University is one of the most prestigious universities in the world. Many famous scientists have been trained and worked at the university, and many Nobel laureates have been awarded the Nobel Prize in Physics and Chemistry. In 2010, a representative office of Nagoya University was opened in Tashkent. Today, the mission is to strengthen the bridge of the higher educational institutions of our country in the field of education and research.

In December 2019, the President of Uzbekistan Shavkat Mirziyoyev was awarded with Honorary Doctorate from Nagoya University for the enormous contribution to the development of the sphere of education, as well as the full support of science and academic exchanges, in recognition of the new phase of reforms being carried out in Uzbekistan to liberalize the economy and achieve sustainable development.

In collaboration with the Nagoya University Representative Office in Uzbekistan, a group of professors, staff members of the Women's Committee of Uzbekistan, and a group of researchers working on gender studies have been established in Uzbekistan.

The purpose of the meeting was to the gender related questions with professors of Nagoya University, exchange experiences and broaden the knowledge of both parties on different gender-related issues found in Uzbek and Japanese societies.

Therefore, Dr.Ayako Harada - professor of the Graduate School of Law of Nagoya University, and Dr.Hiroko Takeda - Professor of Political Analysis at the School of Law and a Deputy Director at the Institute for Advanced Research of Nagoya University, were invited to share the findings of their research, highlight similar as well as different types of issues both countries are facing on gender and discuss ways to integrate possible solutions to reduce gender inequality in Uzbekistan.

It is important to note that Ms.Takeda has been involved in political, economic, and social affairs for many years and has published several articles on gender equality and the role of women in economic and sociological sectors.

Ms. Harada has been engaged in research on children and family law issues, involving child abuse and neglect, child custody and adoption. Professor has raised a rhetorical question on gender inequality in Japanese society in her research:

 "Given that the current social condition relies heavily upon maternal care of children, how strongly can we argue for the norm of shared parenting for post-divorce families, when shared parenting may be unrealistic even for families with intact marriages?”

(Harada, 2015).

Ms.Harada also stressed the importance of successful completion of special training for conciliators on domestic violence and unsafe cases to protect victims and arrange a safe child visitation for separated parents. During the discussion, various social challenges were discussed, and comments were given from the gender experts of Uzbekistan as well as professors of Nagoya University.