Japan election: Record number of women win seats

Japan election: Record number of women win seats


Election Administration Committee officials count ballots for Japan's general election in Tokyo on October 27, 2024.

Election Administration Committee officials count ballots for Japan’s general election in Tokyo on October 27, 2024. Photo courtesy: AFP

There has been a record number of women Elected to the House of Representatives of JapanEstimates were shown Monday (Oct. 28, 2024), but they remain in the minority at less than 16%.

public broadcaster nhk Women were estimated to have won 73 of the 465 lower house seats, with the figures expected to be confirmed in official results later in the day. In Japan’s 2021 general election, approximately 45 women were elected to the lower house.

chart visualization

Broadcasters and other outlets previously reported that a record number of women were running in the election, making up nearly a quarter of the candidates.

Female leaders in business and politics are still rare in Japan, which ranks 118th out of 146 in the 2024 World Economic Forum’s Global Gender Gap Report. Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba’s 20-strong Cabinet includes just two women.

In Japan, Momoko Nojo, head of the ‘No Youth No Japan’ organization, said before the ruling party leadership vote last month, “Political parties are male-oriented and not open-minded, so it is difficult to find female candidates”.

“Many women also do care work at home, which makes it difficult for them to become politicians,” said Ms. Njo, who also runs a project to encourage and support women and minorities to enter politics. Are.

According to Jiji Press, “A Cabinet Office survey conducted in 2021 found that one in four female election candidates in Japan reported facing sexual harassment during their campaigns.”

Ishiba’s ruling coalition had a disappointing performance in elections on Sunday (October 27, 2024) and is predicted to lose its parliamentary majority. The 67-year-old prime minister called for a vote days after taking office on October 1, but voters angered by the dirty funds scandal punished his Liberal Democratic Party (LDP).



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