Officials from the election administration committee in Tokyo opened ballot boxes on Sunday to count votes for Japan's general election, as reported by AFP.
Projections on Monday indicated a record number of women have been elected to Japan's House of Representatives, yet they still constitute less than 16% of the total. Public broadcaster NHK projected that 73 out of the 465 lower house seats were won by women, with official results expected later in the day. In the 2021 general election, 45 women were elected to the lower house. Earlier reports from NHK and other outlets highlighted that a record number of women, approximately a quarter of the candidates, were running in this election. Despite this, women leaders remain scarce in both business and politics in Japan, which ranked 118 out of 146 in the 2024 World Economic Forum's Global Gender Gap report. Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba's 20-member cabinet includes only two women.
Momoko Nojo, head of the organization No Youth No Japan, commented last month before the ruling party leadership vote that 'political parties in Japan are male-oriented and not open-minded, making it challenging to find female candidates.' She also noted that 'many women take on care work at home, which makes it difficult for them to pursue a career in politics.' Nojo runs a project aimed at encouraging and supporting women and minorities to enter politics. A 2021 cabinet office survey found that one in four female electoral candidates in Japan reported facing sexual harassment during their campaigns, according to Jiji Press.
Prime Minister Ishiba's ruling coalition faced a significant setback in Sunday's election, with projections indicating a loss of their parliamentary majority. The 67-year-old leader called for the vote just days after taking office on October 1, but voter dissatisfaction over a slush fund scandal led to a backlash against his Liberal Democratic Party (LDP).
Source link: https://www.khaleejtimes.com
