Skip to main content

Balancing the ballot: going beyond the 2018 gender parity law to encourage women's political participation in Japan

Academic Paper / Article

Back
December 11, 2023

Balancing the ballot: going beyond the 2018 gender parity law to encourage women's political participation in Japan

Source: The Asia-Pacific Journal: Japan Focus

Abstract: While the passage of the 2018 Gender Parity Law was a step in the right direction, progress on women’s political empowerment in Japan has been slow. With a combined effort from advocacy groups, political parties, and the international community to include more women on ballots and support them to electoral success, Japan can move the needle on gender equity in politics.

The annual Group of Seven (G7) meeting invites opportunities for multi-national collaboration but also comparison amongst the attending states. The G7 countries (Canada, the United States, United Kingdom, Italy, Germany, France, and Japan, plus attendance from the European Union) indeed share many things in common: they are all relatively wealthy, liberal democracies committed to working together on global issues. Yet the photos from this year’s meeting highlight another questionable commonality: where aren’t there more women in positions of leadership? A deeper look reveals varying levels of gender equality in politics across G7 members with Japan continuing to lag significantly behind.

Click here to read the full article published by The Asia-Pacific Journal: Japan Focus on 10 December 2023.

Image by The Asia-Pacific Journal

.

Resource type
Attachments
Region
Author
Lauren McKee
Publisher
The Asia-Pacific Journal
Publication year
2023
Focus areas

Abstract: While the passage of the 2018 Gender Parity Law was a step in the right direction, progress on women’s political empowerment in Japan has been slow. With a combined effort from advocacy groups, political parties, and the international community to include more women on ballots and support them to electoral success, Japan can move the needle on gender equity in politics.

The annual Group of Seven (G7) meeting invites opportunities for multi-national collaboration but also comparison amongst the attending states. The G7 countries (Canada, the United States, United Kingdom, Italy, Germany, France, and Japan, plus attendance from the European Union) indeed share many things in common: they are all relatively wealthy, liberal democracies committed to working together on global issues. Yet the photos from this year’s meeting highlight another questionable commonality: where aren’t there more women in positions of leadership? A deeper look reveals varying levels of gender equality in politics across G7 members with Japan continuing to lag significantly behind.

Click here to read the full article published by The Asia-Pacific Journal: Japan Focus on 10 December 2023.

Image by The Asia-Pacific Journal

.

Resource type
Attachments
Region
Author
Lauren McKee
Publisher
The Asia-Pacific Journal
Publication year
2023
Focus areas