Women cabinet ministers in Japan
Source: Nippon
The Global Gender Gap Report released in November 2017 by the World Economic Forum ranked Japan 114th out of 144 countries. This was a fall of three places from the previous year. The ranking is based on four categories: economic participation and opportunity, educational attainment, health and survival, and political empowerment. Japan lagged particularly in the last of these categories, ranking 129th for women in parliament and 88th for women in ministerial positions.
The first Japanese woman to be appointed a cabinet minister was Nakayama Masa, who became minister of health and welfare in July 1960. Then in July 1962, Kondō Tsuruyo was appointed as minister of state of science and technology. Following that, there was a 22-year gap until the appointment of a female minister of state for the environment. The first time that two women simultaneously held ministerial positions was in 1989. Since July 1998, there has always been at least one female minister. The highest number to date has been five—once at the start of the Koizumi Jun’ichirō administration in April 2001 and then in September 2014 during the current administration of Prime Minister Abe Shinzō.
Click here to read the full article published by Nippon on 26 July 2018.
The Global Gender Gap Report released in November 2017 by the World Economic Forum ranked Japan 114th out of 144 countries. This was a fall of three places from the previous year. The ranking is based on four categories: economic participation and opportunity, educational attainment, health and survival, and political empowerment. Japan lagged particularly in the last of these categories, ranking 129th for women in parliament and 88th for women in ministerial positions.
The first Japanese woman to be appointed a cabinet minister was Nakayama Masa, who became minister of health and welfare in July 1960. Then in July 1962, Kondō Tsuruyo was appointed as minister of state of science and technology. Following that, there was a 22-year gap until the appointment of a female minister of state for the environment. The first time that two women simultaneously held ministerial positions was in 1989. Since July 1998, there has always been at least one female minister. The highest number to date has been five—once at the start of the Koizumi Jun’ichirō administration in April 2001 and then in September 2014 during the current administration of Prime Minister Abe Shinzō.
Click here to read the full article published by Nippon on 26 July 2018.