Sony has organized courses for prospective fathers in Tokyo. Noriko Hayashi for The New York Times

For years, Japan has promoted women in the workplace in part to cope with severe labor shortages. Some employers are trying to change a male-dominated workplace culture.

There’s been some progress: Since 2020, women have made up nearly half of each entering class of diplomats of the Foreign Ministry, and many women continue their careers after they marry. But women still struggle to balance careers with domestic obligations.

Lives lived: Kim Ki-nam, North Korea’s chief propagandist for decades, died at 94.