After the 4th World Conference on Women in 1995 and The Basic Law for a Gender-Equal Society in 1999, several measures have been carried out in the rural area for the formation of a gender-equal society. A framework for promoting gender equality has been steadily established over the past few years, and each prefecture is currently making a concerted effort to promote policies towards the formation of a gender-equal society. On the other hand, the reforms of the administrative structure in prefectures sometimes affect groups of women farmers. The economical support and guidance provided by local administrations until these reforms stopped in some cases. In these cases, these women\u27s activities have continued to face difficulties. This thesis describes and analyzes the present situation for the support to improve the status of women farmers and discusses one of groups, the Zenkoku-Seikatsu-Kenkyu-Group Renraku-Kyougikai, that is engaged in the support to empower rural women in society
