Odawara City — Karen Makishima is the only woman running for the ruling party in 20 prefectures ahead of the October 27th general election, and is facing a difficult time for women to break into Japan’s male-dominated politics. It reflects the battle.
Her Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) is committed to narrowing the democratic world’s widest gender gap among members, even though women make up a record fifth of all election candidates. Regardless, it and other parties are unlikely to achieve the government’s goals. By 2025, 35% of House candidates will be women.
Surveys show that society’s attitudes toward women in Japan are a barrier, but the Liberal Democratic Party, which has been in power for almost the entire post-war period, has not made any serious efforts to reduce the gender gap in parliament. I also have an opinion. More drastic measures.
According to a Reuters analysis, only 16% of Liberal Democratic Party candidates in the upcoming poll are women, compared to 22% for the opposition Constitutional Democratic Party.
Gender inequality may not be the most important issue in the snap general election, but the Liberal Democratic Party, which has been hit by scandals, is preparing to vote in the House of Councilors election by July, and every vote from both men and women is needed. Surveys suggest that the party may lose its long-held majority.
In between giving stump speeches and taking photos in the coastal constituency of Odawara City, about a two-hour drive from the capital Tokyo, Makishima said that Japan’s politics, which requires female candidates to work long hours, is not good. He told Reuters that he was having a hard time overcoming society’s perception of him. For women.
Makishima says, “The biggest drawback of the small number of female members of parliament is that the traditional perception that women are not suited for politics remains unchanged.”
Japan’s long-standing gender gap problem has become a source of international embarrassment.
According to the 2024 G7 report, women currently represent just over 10% of the House of Commons, compared to an average of 30% for other Group of Seven (G7) developed democracies. This year’s World Economic Forum’s Gender Gap Report ranked Japan 118th out of 146 countries.
The Liberal Democratic Party last year set its own gender target of increasing the proportion of women in parliament to 30% by 2033, but some gender equality experts say the party has more concrete plans, such as gender quotas. points out that it is necessary.
Emma Dalton, a senior lecturer at Australia’s La Trobe University who has researched gender inequality in Japan, says “The Liberal Democratic Party’s dominance is key to understanding why there are so few women in politics.” .
Some lawmakers agree it’s time for bolder action.
Tomomi Inada, a former defense minister, told Reuters that the party needs to consider introducing a quota system or come up with a detailed plan for how it will achieve its promised 30% female representation by 2033. He said he thinks there is.
“A realistic path, that’s what we need,” she said.
In an emailed response to questions from Reuters, the Liberal Democratic Party said there were no plans to create slots or quotas for women candidates in the election, as many of the seats are held by incumbent members. Political parties must support women in politics, but “we also need to change society’s attitudes,” the Liberal Democratic Party said.
According to a 2021 government report, issues facing women in Japanese politics include gender stereotypes, difficulty balancing other responsibilities such as raising children, and harassment. .
“When I was on the campaign trail, people kicked my sign, and when I responded to racist comments, some people said, ‘How dare a woman talk back!'” said Harumi Yoshida, Minister of State. CDPJ.
In a survey conducted from 2020 to 2021 of more than 5,000 local councilors, nearly 60% of female respondents said they had been harassed by members of the public or colleagues, compared to one-third of male respondents. did.
Earlier this month, newly appointed Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba installed a new cabinet with only two women, in what human rights groups called a “clear setback” in efforts towards gender equality. The Constitutional Democratic Party’s shadow cabinet had eight members.
A week later, Inada and other female lawmakers wrote a letter to the Liberal Democratic Party leadership, saying the low number of women in parliament was “distorting democracy itself.”
The letter makes several recommendations to improve gender equality in elections, including by ranking women higher on the list of non-electoral candidates elected through proportional representation. , including increasing the chances of women winning seats.
A Reuters review of these lists found that the top rankings were dominated by men. The Liberal Democratic Party said a record 39% of candidates on its list are women, but declined to comment on their ranking.
Nevertheless, Makishima, who won the seat by a wide margin in 2021, remains hopeful of far-reaching changes.
“We are in a transition period,” she said.
