Many people are aware that the LDP elections, which will determine Japan’s next Prime Minister, are taking place on Sept 29, but fewer actually know that two of the four contenders are women. Is the country on the path to gender equality?
Japan is not known for its culture of gender equality. As a matter of fact, it ranked 121 of 153 countries in a World Economic Forum report for 2020. Gender norms have remained common in various areas of the Japanese society, including governance and politics.
In 2020, only 15% of managerial positions were held by women. This was way behind Abe-san’s initial target of 30%, and even his 19-member cabinet did not include more than two female ministers. As a result, Japan was ranked below Saudi Arabia in terms of female representation in politics!
The trend, however, is very different. Several women recently took leading roles in the country. Yuriko Koike leads the city of Tokyo, and former Olympic athlete and cabinet Minister Seiko Hashimoto became responsible for the Olympics’ organization after Yoshio Moro was dismissed … for sexist comments. At a more symbolic level, Japan is currently considering to allow married women to keep a separate surname, which is currently unconstitutional.
Now, two out of the four candidates in the upcoming LDP elections are women: Sanae Takaichi and Seiko Noda, who both are former Ministers of Internal Affairs and Communication. One of the male candidates, Kono-san (currently the Minister in charge of vaccination) however remains a favorite in the race for the leadership role, but he stresses his objective to boost women’s representation in politics, although not through quotas.
If we think realistically, despite Abe-san’s support to Ms. Takaichi, Japan’s next Prime Minister will probably be a man again, and his cabinet will likely comprise a large majority of male ministers. This said, given that we don’t think quotas are the solution, we are impressed by the pace at which mindsets are changing on gender equality in Japan’s political circles. Time will tell if this change spreads to the general population.
ALF – September 23, 2021