An international survey has ranked Japan 113th of 190 countries for the percentage of women in ministerial positions. It is the lowest among the Group of Seven industrialized countries.

To mark International Women’s Day on March 8, there will be worldwide marches, parades, protests and public awareness activities on the contributions of women and the barriers and discrimination they still face.

It should be no surprise that Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe has declared gender equality to be one of his main priorities.

Despite a record number of women winning seats in Sunday’s Upper House election, some female voters have expressed doubts about the government’s commitment to empowering women.

One of the world's most unequal parliaments could be about to get a lot more female, or ... maybe not.

The ratio of female candidates for the upcoming Upper House election hit a record high, but whether the country can achieve its target of raising the percentage of female lawmakers in the Diet to 30 percent remains uncertain.

Why hasn’t Japan been able to eliminate the perception that politics is a man’s world?