Gender Imbalance Persists in Japanese Politics

Tokyo, Feb. 28 (Jiji Press)–The political glass ceiling for women remains firmly in place in Japan even after Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi became the country’s first woman to take the post of prime minister last October. In the Feb. 8 general election for the House of Representatives, the lower chamber of the Diet, the country’s parliament, the number of female lawmakers elected was 68, accounting for 14.6 pct of the total, down from a record 73 female lawmakers, or 15.7 pct, in the previous Lower House election in 2024. “We’ll work to ensure that women participate in various decision-making in society as a common goal of the public and private sectors,” Takaichi, who also heads the ruling Liberal Democratic Party, said at a Council for Gender Equality meeting in December last year. However, in the latest Lower House poll, held only about a month and a half after her comment, the proportion of LDP female candidates in the election stood at just 12.8 pct, or 43 women. “There was no instruction to actively field female candidates,” a senior LDP election campaign official said. “The Lower House dissolution was so sudden that it was the last thing on our minds.” The number of female ministers in Takaichi’s second cabinet, formed after the poll, also remained at two. Of the 1,284 candidates, 313 were women, down by one from the previous Lower House election. Although the proportion of female candidates reached a record 24.4 pct, it still falls far short of the “as equal as possible” gender balance required for political parties under the law for the promotion of gender equality in the political field. The share of women also remains below the government’s target of reaching 35 pct by 2025 set in the fifth basic plan for gender equality. By party, only three opposition groups surpassed 35 pct–43.2 pct at Sanseito, 38.7 pct at Reiwa Shinsengumi and 38.1 pct at the Japanese Communist Party. The share was 19.9 pct and 25 pct, respectively, for the Centrist Reform Alliance, created by Lower House members from the Constitutional Democratic Party of Japan and Komeito, and the Democratic Party for the People, both of which pledged to introduce a quota system for female candidates. The Japan Innovation Party, the LDP’s coalition partner, marked 14.6 pct. “I’d like to see more female lawmakers, to be honest,” Fumitake Fujita, co-leader of the JIP, said while acknowledging the difficulty of securing female candidates. “It’s like putting the cart before the horse to deprive male lawmakers of their chances and replace them with women.” “Having equal numbers of men and women in the Diet as soon as possible would be ideal,” said Junya Ogawa, leader of the Centrist Reform Alliance. “We need to review all aspects, including election campaigns and how the Diet should be managed.” One reason the number of female candidates has not increased is that incumbents are prioritized when parties pick candidates for single-seat constituencies, leaving few opportunities for newcomers. Other problems include difficulties securing political funds and balancing child-rearing and elderly care. All these have prompted calls for enhanced support from within political parties. END [Copyright The Jiji Press, Ltd.]