The new law is epoch-making in terms of having companies come up with goals and measures by themselves to narrow the pre-existing gap between men and women in the workplace. However, it’s still unclea

Six months have passed since a law to promote the active engagement of women in society took effect

This law has zero penalties for underachievers, simply the shame of not being included in the list of so-called Nadeshiko companies.

You can't change this reality without changing work life/hours. There's a whole host of changes connected to education and business as interlocking institutions. Perhaps incremental change is possible. But the policy-makers, bureaucrats and politicians have to see the problem and have an intention to address it. It's not happening. Talk is cheap. And cheap talk is what we're going to get for the next decade or three. When things crash, then we'll see if people want to sink or swim and if it's too late or not. I doubt Japanese really want change. The prospect of decline is not as feared as change is.