Daughters Face Battle to Take Charge at Japan’s Family Firms

Japan may have its first woman Prime Minister, but in the business community, breaking down decades of entrenched resistance toward female leaders is proving harder.

For Chikako Tarukawa, who runs electronics manufacturer Alpha Electronic Co., it took the 2011 nuclear disaster for her to succeed her father as head of the Fukushima-based family firm. Her husband had been lined up for that role, but a disagreement over what to do in the aftermath of the huge earthquake and tsunami put her on track to become president instead.

Her story illustrates the grip of the long-held belief in corporate Japan ...