A man’s world? Japan makes tepid push on gender gap in politics as election nears

Gender inequality may not be a top issue in the snap election, but polls suggest the ruling, scandal-hit LDP may lose its long-held majority

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A woman walks past campaign posters for the House of Representatives election in Tokyo. Photo: AFP

Published: 4:16pm, 24 Oct 2024Updated: 4:26pm, 24 Oct 2024

Karen Makishima is the only female running for Japan’s ruling party in her 20-seat prefecture for the general election on Sunday, reflecting the tough battle women face in breaking into the country’s male dominated politics.

Her Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) has promised to narrow one of the widest gender gaps among lawmakers in the democratic world, but even with a record fifth of all election candidates being women, it and other parties will likely fail to hit a government target of 35 per cent female lower house candidates by 2025.

While surveys show societal attitudes towards women in Japan are a barrier, some also say the ruling LDP, which has governed for almost all the post-war period, is not serious about shrinking the gender gap in lawmakers, citing its failure to implement bolder measures.

Only 16 per cent of LDP candidates in the coming poll are women, compared with 22 per cent for the opposition Constitutional Democratic Party of Japan (CDPJ), according to a Reuters’ analysis.

Karen Makishima, a Liberal Democratic Party candidate for the coming general election, delivers a speech on top of a campaign vehicle on the first day of her campaign in Odawara. Photo: Reuters

Gender inequality may not be a top issue in the snap election, but the scandal-hit LDP, which also faces an upper house poll by July, needs every vote, both from men and women, with polls suggesting it may lose its long-held majority.