Gender Imbalance: Japan’s Political Representation by Women Lowest in G20
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Japan ranked 165th out of 193 countries in the Women in Parliament in 2018 report published by the Inter-Parliamentary Union ahead of International Women’s Day on March 8. As of last year, 10.2% of Japanese House of Representatives lawmakers are female—there have been no elections since then—but increased representation in other countries means Japan has slipped seven places in the list.
The report found that the proportion of female members in national parliaments around the globe has increased from 11.3% in 1995 to 24.3% in January 2019—yet Japan still remains below the 1995 level.
Women in National Parliament (Lower or Single House)
| Rank | Country | |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Rwanda | 61.3% |
| 2 | Cuba | 53.2% |
| 3 | Bolivia | 53.1% |
| 4 | Mexico | 48.2% |
| 5 | Sweden | 47.3% |
| 13 | Spain | 41.1% |
| 16 | France | 39.7% |
| 30 | Italy | 35.7% |
| 39 | Britain | 32.0% |
| 47 | Germany | 30.9% |
| 62 | Canada | 26.9% |
| 73 | China | 24.9% |
| 78 | United States | 23.5% |
| 121 | South Korea | 17.1% |
| 131 | Russia | 15.8% |
| 136 | Egypt | 14.9% |
| 165 | Japan | 10.2% |
Yellow highlighting indicates G7 member. Excerpted version of table published by the Inter-Parliamentary Union.
Japan’s proportion of female lawmakers is significantly lower than its G7 peers and is also the worst among G20 nations.
Female Lower House Lawmakers in Japan (As of March 1, 2019)
| Party Grouping | Lawmakers | Female Lawmakers | Ratio |
|---|---|---|---|
| Liberal Democratic Party | 281 | 22 | 7.8% |
| Constitutional Democratic Party of Japan and affiliated independents | 68 | 15 | 22.1% |
| Democratic Party for the People and affiliated independents | 39 | 2 | 5.1% |
| Kōmeitō | 29 | 4 | 13.8% |
| Japanese Communist Party | 12 | 3 | 25.0% |
| Japan Restoration Party | 11 | 1 | 9.1% |
| Other parties and independents | 22 | 0 | 0.0% |
| Total | 462 | 47 | 10.2% |
Created by Nippon.com based on publicly available data from the House of Representatives. Of the total of 465 seats, 3 are currently vacant.
Female Upper House Lawmakers in Japan (As of March 6, 2019)
| Party Grouping | Lawmakers | Female Lawmakers | Ratio |
|---|---|---|---|
| Liberal Democratic Party and affiliated independents | 125 | 19 | 15.2% |
| Democratic Party for the People and affiliated independents | 28 | 7 | 25.0% |
| Constitutional Democratic Party of Japan and affiliated independents | 27 | 7 | 25.9% |
| Kōmeitō | 25 | 5 | 20.0% |
| Japan Restoration Party and Party of Hope | 15 | 4 | 26.7% |
| Japanese Communist Party | 14 | 5 | 35.7% |
| Independents Club | 2 | 2 | 100.0% |
| Okinawa Whirlwind | 2 | 1 | 50.0% |
| Other independents | 3 | 0 | 0.0% |
| Total | 241 | 50 | 20.7% |
Created by Nippon.com based on publicly available data from the House of Councillors. Of the total of 242 seats, 1 is currently vacant.
(Translated from Japanese. Banner photo: An opposition lawmaker questions House of Representatives Budget Committee Chair Noda Seiko. © Jiji.)