Japan elections, women win 73 out of 465 seats

Japan elections, women win record number of seats, prime minister’s ruling coalition likely to lose parliamentary majority.

Japan’s broadcaster NHK has said that women have won 73 of the 465 seats in the lower house. About 45 women were elected to the lower house in the country’s 2021 elections.

Women are underrepresented in Japan’s politics and business, with Japan ranking 118th out of 146 in the World Economic Forum’s 2024 Gender Gap Report. Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba’s 20-member cabinet has only two women.

Permits issued to foreign media for coverage of general elections

Last month, No Youth No Japan head Momoko Nojo said that Japan’s political parties are dominated by men and they are not open-minded. Therefore, it is difficult to find female candidates. He said that many women are confined to the house, which makes it difficult for them to become politicians.

Momoko Nojo also runs a project to encourage and support women and minorities in politics. A Cabinet Office survey conducted in 2021 found that one in four female election candidates in Japan experienced sexual harassment during their election campaign, the 67-year-old prime minister said just days after taking office on Oct. 1. Elections were announced a day later.