Japan

TOKYO -- A record 181 of the 545 people standing in Japan's July 10 House of Councillors election are women, comprising 33.2% of all candidates, also a high.

The total of 181 female candidates announced on June 22 was up 77 from the previous upper house contest in 2019. It was the first time for the figure to top the 146 female candidates in the chamber's 1989 election, when the so-called "Madonna boom" led by Takako Doi, then head of the now-defunct Japan Socialist Party, occurred.

Japan's Lower House of the Diet plans a questionnaire on women's participation in politics as the country largely lags behind in female representation in national parliaments.

In Japan, female lawmakers account for only 9.7 percent of all those elected in last year's Lower House election.

A survey by the Inter-Parliamentary Union shows that as of April 1, Japan ranked 166th among 188 countries surveyed in terms of the ratios of women in lower or single houses of parliament.

In Sunday's general election, 45 women were elected to the 465-seat House of Representatives, down two from the previous contest in 2017, despite a law promoting female participation in the political field, data showed Monday.

Harassment is common for women who run for office and female MPs comprise just 9.9% of lower house.

Mari Yasuda has come to dread checking her social media accounts. While a TV programme has tipped the candidate as “one to watch” in Japan’s general election this month, her anonymous correspondents make no secret of their belief that, as a woman, she should not be standing for parliament at all.

TOKYO – Just 186 of the 1,051 candidates standing in Japan's House of Representatives election this month, or 17.7%, are women -- on par with the low level seen in the previous lower house race in 2017.

Two women are in contention to become prime minister of Japan for the first time in its history — a potential turning point for a country that ranks below Saudi Arabia in terms of female political representation.